I'll Leave the Love I Have for You (In the Stars)
by Sealure
Summary: Altean!Lance AU. Lance McClain is the Blue Paladin of Voltron. But his real name is Atreyu Talyn...who also happens to be the Blue Paladin of Voltron. No matter how far you run from the fires of your past, the stars will always lead you home. NO SLASH FAMILY FEELS ONLY T for blood, war, and minor character death.
1. The End

**Woah. Ok, guys, I have no idea where this came from. I went on a Voltron Legendary Defender binge almost exactly one month ago, and I've already watched all four seasons. I need a life. Anyway.**

 **I love, love LOVE the whole Altean!Lance idea, so voila! This is my take on an Altean!Lance. It will follow the canon events of the show, except for the obvious fact that Lance is not actually a human.**

 **This should be interesting. I gave Lance a different birth name, but once he meets the team, he'll go by Lance, so you won't get confused by that.**

 **His Altean name is Atreyu, by the way. No, I have not seen the Never Ending Story. Yes, I do know that's the name of the main character. No, this has nothing to do with that. It just sounds cool and it means ancient, bold guardian. He's a protector of the universe, and he's over 10,000 years old. It fits, ok?!**

 **I also disregarded the canon Paladins from Alfor and Zarkon's time. I made one of Lance's sisters the Green Paladin, and totally made up a new Yellow Paladin.**

 **And guys, this first chapter is SAD. REALLY, REALLY SAD. I made myself cry. It was bad.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Arianwen. And some random, irrelevant OCs.**

 **SPOILERS: None for this chapter. I'll let you know as they come up.**

 **WARNINGS: Blood, battle, and character death. Nobody canonically major, but dude, it's freaking sad.**

 **These are their name translations:**

 **Atreyu : Ancient, Bold Guardian(Lance)**

 **Arianwen : Blessed Silver(Random sister I made up)**

 **Kon: was Zarkon's nickname.**

 **Here we go! Brace for tears.**

* * *

Arianwen staggered down Green's ramp, heaving for breath and hacking up great lungful's of blood. Zarkon's bayard had torn through her armor like it wasn't even there.

She clamped her not-broken arm around her shredded abdomen and set off for the control room as quickly as she could.

The doors opened at her touch. She could see Alfor, and Allura. Coran, the royal adviser, was there as well. That was all she had time to see before her legs gave out.

"Ari!" She heard Allura cry out, and then strong arms were slowing her descent. She looked up wearily, seeing Coran's concerned face.

She gave him a tiny, broken smile as he helped her back up.

"Thanks, Coranick," she said softly, and was rewarded with a snort at the ridiculous nickname that her brother had come up with.

Her heart lurched.

"Have we heard anything from Blue or Atreyu?" she asked, making her way over to her chair and sagging into it, prodding at her wound. She muffled a cough into the crook of her arm.

"Yes," Alfor answered grimly. His blue eyes darted to her green ones for a moment, and she could see her own grief reflected in them. "Zarkon…."The Altean King closed his eyes for a moment, and Ari felt her heart stop.

"He's didn't—Ayu's not—"she started, fear crawling up her throat, gut wrenching and all-consuming. She could not lose her brother. She couldn't.

"No!" Allura sprang forwards, hands on the Paladin's shoulders. "No, he's alive, Ari. He's alive."

Ari's eyes closed without her permission, and she slumped against the Princess. "Thank the Ancients," she muttered.

"He's in a healing pod," Coran said, crouching in front of her and pulling her arms away so he could inspect her injury. The usually jovial man's face was twisted with sorrow. "It's very bad, Ari."

She swallowed hard and nodded. "How bad?"

Coran's jaw worked for a moment before he managed to get out an answer. "The two of them were battling up on one of the Galra cruisers. Zarkon got lucky. His bayard—"Coran closed his eyes. "His bayard went straight through Atreyu's body. He then kicked number three off of the ship onto the rocks below. I don't know how far he fell, but it was a long way. The skin on his back looks like he's been flogged, and the bones are utterly shattered, along with most of his ribs. Zarkon's bayard did an incredible amount of damage to his lungs and stomach. And he hit his head, though to be frank, that's the injury I'm the least concerned with."

Ari took a shuddery breath, covering her face with her hands. "I didn't feel anything…."

Allura took her hands and squeezed them comfortingly. "That's because all of you shut down your bonds, remember? So Zarkon couldn't get into your heads?"

"Right, right," Ari said. She took another breath, significantly steadier. "Thank you, 'Lura."

The other girl smiled at her.

"Have we heard from Yseult?" Ari asked, returning her attention to her injury. She turned her head aside as a coughing fit brought up another mouthful of blood.

Alfor shook his head. "Which isn't good," he said softly. "Yseult isn't one to miss deadlines, especially in situations such as these."

Ari snorted. "As though we've ever been in a situation like this before." She raked her hands through her silvery curls.

Alfor shot her an unamused look, and she grimaced in apology.

"Any word from—"she faltered, then shook her head harshly. "Any word from _him?"_ She all but spat out the last word, unable to say his name after all he had done to them.

Alfor's jaw clenched, and he shook his head once.

Arianwen nodded.

Then there was a massive impact, throwing Ari, Allura, and Coran to the ground. Ari gasped as she landed on her broken arm, stars exploding before her eyes at the pain. But she didn't have time to be hurt. She dragged herself up and leaned against her chair. She pressed her hand over her wound again, and focused on her quintessence. Green for life.

Her hand began to glow with a rich viridian, and slowly, the injuries began to heal. Atreyu was much better at this, being the Water Paladin and all, but she was almost as good. She was running low on energy, though, and Allura could see that. The Princess pressed her hands over the Paladins, lending her more strength. While not able to heal it completely, she had mended her lungs and at least patched the damaged organs and ribs. That would do until the battle was over. And one way or another, it was ending today.

" _Alfor."_ The voice that rang through the control room had every occupant going stiff.

Allura's eyes blazed, and she made to step forwards, but Ari caught her arm and held her back with a sharp look.

"Zarkon," Alfor didn't try to hide the pain in his voice, and it made Ari's heart hurt even more when Zarkon showed no sign of caring—or of even hearing it. "What do you want?"

" _Your fleet has been decimated, Alfor,"_ Zarkon said, unnatural eyes glowing with a sick delight. _"Altea has fallen. I will be there to claim Voltron shortly."_

The Green Paladin closed her eyes, fighting back the tears. This man had been a brother to her, to both of the Talyn twins. But this monster was _not_ the Zarkon of old. This monster was something else entirely.

" _Or rather, what's left of it."_

Ari's eyes snapped open. "What do you mean?!" she demanded, shoving herself up and stepping in front of the viewscreen. "What do mean, _what's left?_ What have you done?!"

Zarkon's grin widened, and for the first time, she noticed that his face bore a new, bloody scar down the right side of it.

" _Arianwen Talyn. You survived."_ His eyes glittered. _"I'm impressed. If only the others were as resilient, hm?"_

Ari's heart jumped into her mouth. "What are you talking about?"

 _"It's such a shame that Yseult is such a trusting and forgiving being, isn't it?"_

Ari staggered back. "What—"she croaked. "What did you do to him?"

Yseult. The Yellow Paladin. The most friendly and loving being she had ever met in her life with the exception of Atreyu. The giant Balmeran was as gentle as could be, and had been a father figure to literally all of them.

Zarkon's grin widened. " _I ripped that great big heart right out of his chest."_

Tears stung her eyes, and hatred filled her heart as _pain_ blazed through her spirit. "No," she whispered, desperately reaching out for her fellow Paladin's minds. There was Alfor: warm red, usually brilliant, but now dim with grief. There was Atreyu, peaceful blue, normally glowing with love and laughter, now a cold, cold icy mindscape of pain. There was Zarkon—a pit of swirling darkness and madness, streaked through with that awful glowing purple that she didn't dare get any closer to. But where Yseult's bright, cheerful Gold should have been…There was a ragged hole, and Ari desperately opened her mind farther, reaching, seeking desperately.

That was when she heard it—the soft, broken sounds of a Lion mourning its Paladin. Yellow's soft cries were suddenly deafening, and she couldn't hear anything above them except her own pounding heart. She could feel Alfor's rage behind her, along with Allura and Coran.

"How could you?!" She exploded, quintessence blazing to life in her hands and in her eyes. "We were a family! We loved you! How could you do this to us?!"

" _How?_ " Zarkon's grin faded. _"You would have left my beloved to die! My precious Honerva! The_ _ **Paladins**_ _betrayed_ _ **me**_ _, Arianwen! And now you will pay! I will be there to collect Voltron within the varga!"_

The transmission cut out.

Ari stood there, shaking with rage and pain and fear, until a warm hand clasped hers, unconcerned with the green quintessence coursing over her skin. Alfor pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her tight. She clung to him, the quintessence fading as tears slid from her eyes.

"Father, we must fight!" Allura said strongly from behind them. "We must form Voltron!"

"No, daughter," Alfor said gravely. He pressed his and Ari's foreheads together in the traditional Altean display of sibling love. They stayed there for just a moment, letting the pain and love and grief and determination flow across the Paladin bond.

Ari inhaled sharply when she saw his plan, and felt more tears sting her eyes, but she nodded anyway, promising him her help.

They released each other and Alfor turned to Allura. "We must hide the Lions. Zarkon cannot get his hands on them."

"We cannot form Voltron anyway," Ari reminded her, wiping the tears away from Ari's ocean-blue face markings. Yseult is—"she closed her eyes. "Yseult is gone."

"But Father—"

Alfor turned to Allura and reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No, Allura," he said again. There was a brief flare of quintessence, and Allura's eyes widened as she realized what Alfor had done.

"Father—"she gasped, reaching out to him.

"If all goes well, I will see you again soon," Alfor promised. He forced a smile. "I love you, Allura."

The girl collapsed, Alfor sweeping her up into his arms and cradling her. Coran's mouth was hanging open, but before he could speak, Alfor deposited Allura into his arms. "Put her in one of the cryo pods," he said. "She'll be safe there."

Coran nodded numbly and strode from the room.

Alfor turned back to Ari. "I need more time, Ari," he said, eyes burning. "I need more time to hide them."

"I can—"she swallowed hard. "I can give you that."

His eyes were too bright, and all she could feel was _pain_ , spiraling out from where her heart used to be until it was all she could feel.

Alfor strode back to the command console and put his hands on the sensors. The blue light shone from the crystal and he looked at her.

"Fly for the banner of Altea once more, Green Paladin," he said gravely. "One day, may our paths meet again."

Ari clasped her arm over her chest and bowed. Words would not come.

She staggered back to her feet and looked him in the eye.

"Until that day, my King," she whispered.

The Castle rocked with a particularly vicious blast, and Arianwen Talyn fled for her Lion.

There was nothing else she could do.

* * *

Atreyu distantly realized he was falling, but the thought had barely registered before someone was catching him, carefully setting him back on his own feet. Whoever it was gently carded a hand through his tangled, bloodstained white hair, and he unconsciously leaned into it.

Someone was speaking. "….don't know what happened, you shouldn't be out yet—"

"….Kon?" he mumbled, still mostly unaware.

The hand jerked briefly, before resuming its gentle touch. "No, lad. It's Coran."

Ayu made a soft noise of response, the words not really registering.

Zarkon usually caught him after he was injured. He would check all of his injuries over himself and then proceed to give him a twenty dobosh lecture on how reckless he was and how much he meant to all of them. He'd give the Altean a gentle, careful embrace and tell him, "You're my little brother, Ayu. I need you to be more careful with yourself." Then Yseult would worm his way in, one hand on Zarkon's shoulder, the other on Ayu's with a huge smile and a "It is good to see this one awake. My heart was not easy until I saw that you were well." After him, Alfor would come raging through the door, yelling about how much of an idiot he was and what was he thinking and that was so stupid and reckless and Ayu would laugh as Alfor gave him a rib-breaking hug. Then Arianwen would slip up to him and give him a heartfelt embrace and a kiss on the forehead, gently yet firmly telling him to be more careful.

Ayu rested his head on Coran's shoulder as he waited for the others to get there.

 _Zarkon's face twisted with sick satisfaction as Yseult's body hit the ground, the gentle Balmeran's eyes still wide with shock and betrayal._

Ayu gasped, stumbling, as memories started crashing into his head.

 _Atreyu howled in agony and rage, leaping forward and bringing his bladed bow down on Zarkon's face with all the strength he had left in his broken body._

"No, no, no, no," he whispered, dropping to his knees with his hands ripping at his silver hair.

"Are you alright, Atreyu?" Coran's voice sounded like it was coming from far away. "Ayu?"

 _Zarkon roared in pain and anger, and his bayard flashed. Their battle was bitter and long and painful. So, so very painful. Finally, in his exhaustion, Ayu made a fatal mistake. His foot slipped, and his weapon dipped towards the ground. In the single heartbeat that his guard was down, Zarkon's bayard lashed out, and Ayu could do nothing but gasp as the cruel weapon tore through his body like he was made of water vapor._

 _His Lion was screaming in his mind, but her voice felt fuzzy and far away, and her words were unclear._

 _Ayu stared up at Zarkon as he approached. "Kon….." he whispered, one blood-stained hand reaching up to the one he'd once called brother._

 _Zarkon snarled at him. "Goodbye,_ **_Brother_**."

 _An iron boot collided with his chest, and he felt bones snapping as he started falling…..falling…falling….._

 _And then he hit the ground. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was Zarkon, standing on his ship, laughing as fires of death and destruction raged around him._

"Zarkon…." Ayu whispered. "Oh, brother, what have you done?"

"Oh, Ayu," Coran murmured, choking up. He pulled the boy into his arms and held him tight for a long moment.

A distant explosion rocked the Castle, and the Paladin straightened. "What was that?"

Coran sighed, looking about fifty deca-phoebes older. "That would be the Galra army."

Ayu closed his eyes and bowed his head.

The doors to the medbay flew open, and Alfor came in at a run. He slowed when he saw the younger Altean. "Oh, thank the Ancients," he breathed, jogging over and pressing their foreheads together. "I had to turn off all the minor functions to keep the particle barrier up. I didn't realize it would turn off the healing pods as well." He pulled back, hands on Ayu's shoulders.

"How are you feeling?"

The boy grinned. "I'm fi—"

"If you finish that sentence with _fine,_ I swear to the Ancients, Atreyu," Alfor warned.

Ayu looked away and didn't answer.

The older Altean sighed and embraced him again, but another explosion made them jump apart again.

"Alfor, what's happening?" Ayu demanded.

The king's mouth pressed into a thin line. "I'm hiding Voltron," he told the other Paladin. "Zarkon is after the Lions, so I'm splitting them up and hiding them as far apart as I can. I need you to take Blue to this planet." He passed him a hand-held navigation device with coordinates already punched in. "If all goes well, I'll see you soon. If it doesn't—"

"Don't even say it," Ayu interrupted. "Please. I can't lose you, too."

"I can get the Castle to a safe place where Zarkon won't find it, but—"Alfor swallowed hard. "—but I need time. Ari and Green are already out there wreaking havoc, but they're not enough, and I have to fly the Castle. Would you—"

"No," Coran interrupted. "No. Nah-ah. No way. He is injured, and exhausted and in pain and—"

"I'll do it," Ayu pulled himself upright, ignoring both the pain still coursing through his body and the tears coursing down his cheeks. "I can do it."

Alfor's face twisted with sorrow and grief. "I'm so sorry, Ayu. I am so sorry, I would never ask this of you if I didn't have to—"

"I know," Ayu cut him off as tears beginning to slide from Alfor's eyes as well.

Alfor reached into the Paladin bond and showered the boy in all the love he could muster, marred with pain and grief as it was. Ayu returned it with a shuddery gasp.

He dropped to one knee, arm clasped across his chest. "My King," he choked out.

Alfor stood above him, stained with tears and battle. "Blue Paladin of Voltron," he said gravely. "Will you swear to do all in your power to keep the Lions of Voltron from falling into the hands of the former Black Paladin, the Galra Emperor Zarkon?"

"I swear," Ayu said.

"Even at the cost of your own life?"

"Yes."

"Even at the cost of the lives of others?"

Ayu closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Yes."

"Will you swear to defend this Castle, its people and all it stands for, with all of your strength?"

"Yes."

"Will you swear to defend the defenseless, guard the broken, and protect the innocent?"

"Yes."

"Will you swear to fight for justice and truth for all the Universe until your last breath?"

"I swear," Ayu said hoarsely. "I swear to fight for Justice and Truth, but also for Love and Family and all that is good in this universe." He stood and clasped Alfor's arm.

"I will fight until my last breath and beyond," Alfor said.

Ayu gave him a broken smile and answered. "I will fight until the sun goes out."

"Then I shall turn to the stars—"

"—and they shall guide me home."

Alfor swallowed hard and released him.

Ayu saluted him one last time. "May the constellations guide you on your journey."

Alfor locked eyes with him. "And may the stars guide you home."

Ayu choked back his sobs and stood straight. He summoned his bayard, and clapped Coran on the shoulder before running to Blue's hangar and climbing into the cockpit.

"Let's go, girl," he said. "Alfor needs some time, and we can give him that. Let's take out as many of them as we can on our way out. We have to get past Zarkon's fleet before we can open a wormhole, anyway."

Blue purred. _**Together, my pilot.**_

"Together," he murmured. He leaned back and closed his eyes, merging his mind with Blue's until the two became one.

They blasted out of their hangar, soaring and twisting through the seemingly endless army of drones that was swarming the Castle. They roared a challenge, crushing one in their jaws and slinging it into three others. They blasted and clawed and bit and destroyed a countless number of drones before they finally found Ari/Green.

 _ **Sister?**_ They called.

 _ **I am here,**_ Ari/Green answered. They swooped down next to them, and they faced the enemy side by side, just like so many times before.

 _ **Together?**_ Ayu/Blue asked.

 _ **Always,**_ Ari/Green answered.

 _ **Until the end, then,**_ Ayu/Blue said softly.

 _ **And beyond.**_ Ari/Green promised.

And with that, they launched themselves into the battle. Lions blazing with quintessence, pilots melded perfectly with Lions and each other. They were undefeatable.

Until they weren't.

Lightening blazed down out of Zarkon's command ship—a horrible, purple/black lightening that Ari/Green just couldn't dodge in time.

 _ **NO!**_ Ayu/Blue roared, because it was all they could do.

Ari/Green spun through the air until they crashed into the ground.

Lightening cracked down again.

Then Ari/Green screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

Until there was only silence.

Not from Green—Green was hurt, very badly, but Green was alive.

Ayu clawed his way free from Blue's mind, howling into the comms. "No! NO! Ari! Arianwen, you answer me _right now!_ Ari! Ari, ple—"his voice snapped. "Ari, please, answer me. Ari, please, sister mine, answer me! Please….." his desperate cries and pleas faded into nothing. His eyes were wide and full of tears, but he couldn't feel anything. Surely not. Surely not. This was all just some sort of horrible training simulator. Any moment now, the door would open and Ari and Zarkon and Alfor and Yseult and Allura would come running in and hold him and promise him that they were alright, they were all alright, it was just a nightmare.

But the star studded sky outside his viewport remained the same.

"Ari…" he whispered.

"..A….A…Ayu…." came the barely audible response. "Ay—Ayu, I'm—I'm here."

"Hold on," he ordered desperately. "Hold on, Ari, I'm coming."

"I love…."her breathing was slowing down. "I love you."

He slammed Blue into a full-speed spiral towards the ground, towards the helpless, broken form of his sister and her Lion. "I love you too, okay? So you can't go leaving me like this, alright? That's not allowed. You—you have to stay with me, okay?"

"I….I'll….I'll try…."her voice faded out.

"Ari! Don't go to sleep! Stay with me!"

"I….love you…..so…..much," she rasped.

There was a horrible coughing noise, and Ayu winced in sympathy as some of the pain slid into the paladin bond. He quickly took as much of it as he could.

She sighed in relief. "Thank you…I'm getting….sleepy…."

"No, Ari!" He shouted. "No, don't go to sleep! I'm almost there. I'm almost there, sweetheart. Just hold on for me a few ticks longer, alright? Just a few more ticks."

"I don't think…..I'm gonna make…..a few….more…..ticks."

"Don't you talk like that! You're going to be fine!"

"I…..love….you….."

"No! Ari, don't—"

"Atreyu….Brother….."

"Ari, please…."

"I….love….you….."

"I love you, too," he whispered, tears strangling his voice. "I love you so much, Arianwen. You are my precious, beautiful little sister. I love you more than I have words for."

"Say it…..again."

"I love you."

"A….gain.."

"I love you."

"One…..more…..?"

Ayu felt his heart break. "I love you more than I love the stars," he whispered. "More than I love the sea. I love you more than I love anything in existence. I love you till the day I die and beyond. In ten thousand years, when all that's left of us will be legends scattered throughout the stars, I'll still love you. Forever and always, sister mine. Arianwen. I love you forever and always."

"Forever…..and….and al….always." she gasped back. "Ayu…..when…you see…the stars, shining….on you…remember me. I'll leave…the love…..I….have…..for you…in the stars. They'll…..hold onto it…for me. And then…you can always…see it….Even in…..ten thousand…..years…..they will…..still hold….my love…..for you….Atreyu, brother mine…."

"Ari," he choked.

"Atreyu," she whispered, voice so faint he could barely hear it.

"Arianwen."

"Atreyu….."

"I love you."

"Atre…..yu…"

"Ari?"

"…"

"Ari?!"

…

" _ **ARI!"**_

Blue landed beside Green, and Ayu was leaping out of her mouth long before they'd landed. He sprinted to the broken Lion, her jaw hanging askew. He dove inside, taking no notice when broken edges of metal or glass tore at the skin not covered by his armor. He crawled into the destroyed cockpit, and couldn't muffle the wild scream of grief that ripped from his throat as his blue eyes met glassy, empty green ones that would never smile again.

He crashed to the floor, pulling his sister's body into his lap and sobbing into her hair, broken pleas to "Come back," and "Please, don't leave me," spilling from him in floods.

Green was howling, he realized dimly. Blue and Green were both howling their grief and pain to the sky and Ayu thought his heart was going to be crushed beneath the weight of the absolute _agony_ that carved and gouged its way into every corner of his being. There was no end to the pain. It was all consuming, all encompassing, never ending. He couldn't do this. He couldn't _live_ like this.

Green was too wounded to get up, and too heartsick to care.

Blue could do nothing but weep with her sister, and her paladin.

Ayu felt paralyzed by the agony gripping his body.

Was this what it felt like to die?

* * *

Ayu didn't know how long he sat there, ticks or doboshes or vargas. It didn't matter.

But eventually, he dragged himself to his feet, cradling Ari's empty body in his arms. He started walking. He made it out of Green, being oh so careful to make sure nothing touched Ari. Nothing would ever hurt her again. Nothing _could_ hurt her again.

The thought made him falter, and almost fall, but he didn't let go of her.

He didn't let go of her when the Galra drones surrounded them, on the ground and in the air.

He didn't let go of her when he heard a ship landing behind them.

He didn't let go of her when he realized he wasn't going to make it back to Blue.

He didn't let go of her when he heard the familiar sound of a bayard activating.

He didn't let go of her when he turned around to face the traitor.

Zarkon's smile was firmly in place, but Ayu saw the way his eyes couldn't stay on Ari's empty ones.

"Why?" he croaked, unable to say anything else past the grief that was slowly strangling him.

Zarkon's eyes glowed. "Why not?" he purred. He raised his bayard. "This time, I'll make sure you're dead."

Ayu spun around as the wretched weapon whipped past them.

Zarkon would _not_ touch her.

The Altean leapt forwards, arms outstretched, as Blue shook off the drones that had been swarming her and reached for him, opening her mouth. He threw Ari in, mentally apologizing for the rough treatment. He was about to follow her when something hit his back and knocked the breath out of him. He looked down and found the tip of Zarkon's bayard sticking out of his chest. Again.

 _That's not good_.

His legs gave out, and he sagged to the ground, fingers grasping uselessly at the wound.

Zarkon stepped around him, sadistic smile still in place. "You fought hard, Little Blue," he said mockingly. "But it wasn't enough. _You_ weren't enough. You couldn't save Arianwen. You couldn't save Yseult. You couldn't save Alfor. You are useless. You are a _failure._ Think on that, Blue Paladin, as your life bleeds away before your eyes."

He probably would have said more, but Green snapped. She surged up from the ground, roaring her pain and rage for all to hear. Her golden eyes locked onto the one who was the cause of all this, and she attacked with all she had left.

Zarkon ripped his bayard free of Ayu's chest to defend himself, and as he started to fall, Blue caught him. The bigger Lion leapt into the air, grabbing Green in her claws and retreating as quickly as she could.

Green struggled and roared, begging to go back, begging for vengeance.

Blue refused to let go.

Ayu dragged himself to the pilot's seat, Ari safely in his grasp. He leaned back against the seat, lacking the strength to climb up into it. He pulled his sister's limp body into his arms and tilted his head back as he fought for breath.

A warning went off on Blue's console, and her paladin turned his head to see it. Alfor appeared on the monitor, his eyes growing wide when he saw no Paladin in the seat.

"Atreyu?!" he called sharply. "Ayu!"

"Here…." Ayu gasped out.

Alfor looked down, and horror and grief twisted his face. "Ayu," he said. "Is Ari...She's not..."

Ayu let out a hysterical laugh, blood choking up his throat and staining the pilot's chair.

"She's gone," he croaked. "But I have Green. If Blue helps me, I can heal this—"he gestured to himself, "—and still get both of them hidden."

Alfor stared at him, and Ayu felt something sick in his stomach as he realized that Alfor wasn't in the Castle anymore. He shot a quick look at another screen and barely managed to contain his shout of fear. The Castle was completely surrounded by Galra ships and taking incredibly heavy fire. Then a hangar opened, and the Red Lion blasted out.

"Alfor, what are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, Atreyu," Alfor said, eyes locking onto the younger Altean's. "I'm so, so sorry."

"No, no, no," Ayu panicked. "No, we can come and get you!"

"No, Ayu," Alfor said firmly. He pressed his hand against one of the controls, and suddenly Blue was flying faster towards a wormhole that had just opened up above the Galra fleet.

"What are you doing?!" Ayu shouted, lurching up in desperation. "No! Alfor, please!"

"I love you, Ayu," Alfor said. "I love you, little brother."

"No! Alfor, please no!"

The King smiled.

"May the stars guide you home, my friend."

" _NO!"_

The screen went dark, and Blue flew around Altea, weaving through the flaming mech rings that encircled the once peaceful planet, now with fires raging over its surface.

They were almost to the wormhole when there was an explosion behind them. Ayu's head snapped up as Blue turned to look back, Green motionless in her claws. And Ayu felt his heart stop.

Altea was burning.

Altea was _gone_.

What had once been a place of peace, beauty, and joy was now reduced to nothing more than a flaming debris field.

 _Allura._

The Castle was nowhere in sight.

 _Coran._

Probably incinerated like everything else.

 _Mother._

Like everyone else.

 _Father._

Everyone he loved.

 _Javen._

Everything he knew.

 _Seri._

Gone.

 _Valen._

Never to return.

 _Lyren._

His home was gone.

 _May the stars guide you home._

How could the stars guide him to a place that was burning as brightly as they?

Distantly, through the smog and fire, he could see something being dragged up from the wreckage of his planet.

The Red Lion. Motionless, with dull eyes. The Lion—and his Paladin—disappeared into Zarkon's ship.

 _Alfor._

Ayu distantly realized he was screaming, but he didn't know what he was saying. Blue and Green were screaming, too.

Then the force of the explosion finally reached them, and Ayu curled around Ari as tightly as he could as they were thrown around the cockpit. Blue was spinning head over tail, but Ayu kept his eyes on the view port, watching his entire life die.

Atreyu Talyn, Blue Paladin of Voltron finally made it through the wormhole with his Lion, his sister's Lion, and his sister's body.

Behind him, Altea burned.

* * *

 **Ahem. Ok, yeah, that was a lot more angsty than I had originally planned.  
**

 **Ari actually wasn't even supposed to die, but then...Yeah, that happened. Anyway. Also, the list of names that he reels off when he's watching Altea burn? Those were his family members, if that wasn't clear. So yeah. There you go.**

 **Love it, hate it, let me know!**


	2. The Beginning

**Hallo, hallo, hallo!**

 **What is this? An update? In less than six months? It must be a miracle!**

 **SPOILERS: Season 1, episode 1 The Rise of Voltron. There is some dialogue taken directly from the show, so big emphasis on the disclaimer.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

 **Also, I did alter Lance's personality just a little bit. I made him less immature and goofy. And I know that those are two major parts of what makes Lance Lance, but with the way I've written him, it just doesn't fit. So he's going to be a lot more serious. But don't worry! There will still be bad puns and terrible pick-up lines.**

 **Fair warning, episode 1 is going to stretch out over the next two to three chapters. After that, I'm going to try to keep it one episode per chapter, but there's a lot of information in this first one, plus all the reunions and whatnot, so yeah. Bear with me.**

 **And here we go! Chapter two!**

* * *

 _ **The Beginning**_

* * *

Lance McClain was an ordinary, seventeen-year-old boy. He was from Cuba, and his family wasn't very well off, so he'd worked his way into the Garrison on a scholarship.

 _Lie._

Atreyu Talyn was somewhere over ten thousand years old. He was from Altea, and his family was dead. He was at the Garrison to make sure the humans didn't stray farther than they should. His only friend was hidden in the desert, far below the ground.

Green he had hidden on a wildly beautiful, peaceful planet that had few inhabitants. He'd buried his sister there. His beautiful Arianwen. He could still see her face: mischievous, sparkling green eyes, uncontrollable silver curls, bright viridian face markings. He could still hear her laugh, and her strangled sounds of pain as she drowned in her own blood. He'd buried her in a tiny hollow right next to Green. The grass had been thick and soft, the trees tall and strong. There was a carpet of jewel-toned flowers over the grass, and a tiny blue stream running through it.

She would have loved it.

Green had hidden herself by growing roots and vines all over the ancient temple the natives had led them to. She pressed against Ayu's mind one last time before making her way to the heart of the tangle to await her new Paladin. Ayu had done what he could to honor his sister, and carved her story into the steps of the temple that the natives restored over and around Green's deactivated form.

Alfor had hidden Yellow himself, but left the coordinates in Blue's computer. Before their final wormhole jump to Blue's hiding place, they had gone to see Yellow one last time. And Ayu had done the only thing he could do for the father who had given his life for him: he told his story. Carved it into undying stone, immortalizing the mighty heart of the Yellow Paladin.

Blue's cave on Terra—or Earth, as they called it now—was about as far from the oceans of their home as you could get. But there were several underground rivers that ran into it, so it would do. Ayu had carved his story into the walls of the caves above: a heart-wrenching tale of betrayal and pain. Half of the markings were etched in Lance's blood.

Or, rather, Ayu's blood.

Atreyu and Arianwen Talyn were long dead.

But Lance McClain?

He was just starting out.

* * *

Lance stretched, yawning. Iverson had been particularly horrible today, and he _really_ just wanted to go talk to his Lion. He couldn't actually access the cave where she was without damaging the layers of spells that hid their quintessence, but it was better than being miles and miles away.

She purred in the back of his mind. _You have homework._

 _Blue,_ he complained, but she only laughed.

 _Fine,_ he grumbled, and dragged his simulator flight manual out of his backpack. It was such a pain, pretending to be a sub-par pilot. But he had to stay hidden. His life—and Earth's freedom—depended on him never being found again.

So he cracked his knuckles, rubbed his eyes, and got to work.

* * *

Lance tuned out Hunk's nervous chatter as they slunk down the hallways of the Garrison. To be honest, it would be a lot easier without the big guy, but there was no way he was leaving Hunk behind. The boy had a warm, loving feel about him. He reminded Lance of Yseult in all the best ways. He made sure Lance ate, woke him up from nightmares and just held him until he calmed down, encouraged him when Iverson was awful…..Lance couldn't have asked for a better best friend.

Tonight was just a fun night. They'd sneak to the town, grab some burgers, fries, and milkshakes (maybe flirt a little along the way) and then head back. It was a good plan.

But even the best laid plans go awry, and even Lance had to admit that his hadn't been laid particularly well to start with.

When they saw Pidge sneaking out of his room and running for the roof, Lance was understandably curious. Hunk was understandably _not._ And Lance had a heck of a time teasing Hunk about it until they caught up with Pidge and he said a word that Lance hadn't heard in ten thousand years.

 _Voltron_.

"Voltron?" he croaked, doing everything he could to hide just what that simple little word meant to him.

"Yeah," Pidge said, eyes darting back to his screen. "I think…..I think it's a weapon of some kind."

 _Blue….._ he whispered, fear welling up in him. _I don't want them to get hurt. I don't want to lose them like I lost—_

 _You will not,_ she interrupted. _We will not._

Lance raked his fingers through his hair. _How can you say that?! We already know that the Galra have been to Earth at least once before! And what about the Kerberos mission?!_

He could feel Blue's wince. _There was nothing we could have done to help them. Not without revealing ourselves and thus condemning the entire planet. You know this, my paladin._

 _Yeah, yeah._ He took a deep breath. "So, you've been eavesdropping on aliens. Good to know."

"Yes," Pidge said with a short glare at him. "And tonight, it's going crazier than I've ever heard it."

Lance felt that same fear pull at his stomach when the Garrison alarms went off. But that tinge was nothing compared to the ice that flooded his veins when they saw the Galra pod hurtling towards the ground.

He was just grateful the horrified sound he made could be passed off as shock that aliens existed.

 _Blue!_ He shouted as they took off, running for the pod. _Blue, they've found us!_

He could feel her concern, and her anger, but she was still mostly deactivated. She couldn't fully wake by herself, not after so long apart from her Paladin.

The three of them snuck up a ridge as close to the quarantine as they dared, and Pidge quickly hacked the cameras.

Lance couldn't stop his sharp inhale when he saw the man on the table. "That's Takashi Shirogane! He was the pilot of the Kerberos mission!"

"But where's the rest of the crew?" Pidge muttered, brows creasing.

They stared in disbelief as the med techs sedated Shiro without listening to a word he had to say. Lance's jaw tightened when he saw the arm—that was Galra tech. He'd bet his life on it.

"What are they doing?" Lance said. "The guy's a legend, and they're not even going to listen to him?!"

"They didn't even ask about the rest of the crew!" Pidge said. He turned to Lance. "We have to get him out."

Lance nodded.

"Um, I hate to be the voice of reason," Hunk interjected, "always, but weren't we watching on TV because there was literally no way to get past the guards?"

Lance flicked a dismissive hand at him. "That was before we were properly motivated. We just gotta think."

He'd failed the Kerberos team once. He had no intentions of doing so again.

"Could we tunnel in?"

Pidge grinned wickedly. "Or maybe we could steal some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs," he suggested.

"Or," Hunk said, "we dress up like cooks, head back to the dorms, sneak into the commissary—little late-night snack." He rubbed his hands together.

Lance gave him a deadpan look. "No. What we need," he continued, looking back to Pidge, "is a distraction."

The words were barely out of his mouth when a line of explosions went off in the distance, startling all three of them.

Hunk started stammering about the aliens again, but Lance knew it wasn't the Galra. At least, not yet. There wasn't nearly enough purple for them.

He spared a moment to roll his eyes in exasperation. Galra and their precious _purple._ Ugh.

Pidge pointed out the saboteur, flying towards the base on a hovercraft, and Lance felt his mouth drop open as he snagged the binoculars.

"No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there!" Lance snapped. He knew that Keith was close to Shiro, but he had no idea what Shiro had been through. The Galra had their ways of changing people, and Lance had a sinking feeling that Shiro's new arm wasn't the only difference.

Also, he was a little ill with Keith. The _human boy_ had beaten him in the flight simulations. Him! An Altean Paladin! It was incredibly offensive.

Okay, so maybe the "playing jealous" wasn't really so much playing as actually being jealous. But that wasn't the point!

He leaped off the ledge.

"Who is it?" Hunk called after him.

"Keith!"

"Who?" Pidge tilted his head.

Hunk's eyes widened, and he quickly ran after Lance. "Are you sure?"

"I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!"

"Who's Keith?!" Pidge yelled, grabbing his stuff and running after them.

Lance didn't answer him, skidding to a stop at the entrance of the quarantine. He carefully scoped it out, but saw no Garrison personnel.

"Come on," he hissed, running down the hall. They quickly reached the room where Shiro was, just in time to see Keith cut him free and pull him up with his human arm over the smaller boy's shoulders. They were barely through the door when Keith's dark eyes landed on them, and he jerked his knife out again, putting himself between them and Shiro.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

Lance held up both hands. "Dude, chill! We were in the same class at the Garrison! The name's Lance."

Keith lowered the knife a little bit. "Were you an engineer?"

Lance glared. "No, I'm a pilot." He quickly walked forward and pulled Shiro's Galra arm over his shoulders, knowing that he had a much higher chance of surviving an attack from it than any of the others did.

Keith frowned for a second before he nodded. "Oh, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot."

 _Just a cargo pilot…._

" _You're not good enough for fighter class, McClain! You're only here because Kogane had a disciplinary issue and flunked out! You're really not even good enough to be a cargo pilot!"_

" _You're only here because the Blue Lion is the most accepting of all! You're not a real Paladin. You're just a serving boy. A placeholder. You're barely even worthy to wash the dishes!"_

Lance gritted his teeth and blamed his next words on the old memories. "Not any more. I'm fighter class now, thanks to you _washing out._ "

He regretted the words as soon as he said them, but it was too late. Keith's eyes hardened, anger giving them a flinty edge. "Well, congratulations," he said sarcastically.

Lance shook his head at himself and just focused on getting Shiro out of there.

He and Keith had almost reached the hovercraft when Hunk warned them of incoming Garrison troops.

"Quiznak," he hissed under his breath as he and Keith _finally_ reached the vehicle.

Hunk and Pidge came sprinting up, and Lance didn't bother asking Keith for permission. He dragged Hunk to the back and gave him a leg up before lifting Pidge and throwing him in Hunk's general direction. He heard Pidge's furious shout at being manhandled and Hunk's squawk of surprise as he tried not to drop the ball of raging gremlin fury.

Lance himself vaulted up onto the middle bit and held out his arms for Shiro. Keith hesitated for just a moment, but something in Lance's face must have convinced him, because the other boy was lifting Shiro's limp form up to him.

Lance pulled him up the rest of the way and carefully transferred his weight to Pidge before dropping lightly down onto the wing and _shifting_ his density. The hovercraft wasn't made to carry so much weight, so he made himself as light as he could without shifting his entire form.

"Whoa, why am I the one holding this guy?" Pidge yelped, but his arms locked around Shiro's chest anyway.

Satisfied that no one was going to come off, Lance twisted and said, "Keith, go!" and the other boy floored it. But the Garrison officials and soldiers had seen them, and the chase was on.

The Garrison vehicles behind them were gaining, and Lance shouted, "Can't this thing go any faster?!"

"We could toss out some non-essential weight," was Keith's scathing reply, and Lance was really tempted to toss _him_ out. He settled for a bad-tempered growl at the back of Keith's head.

Keith turned back slightly. "Big man, lean left!"

Hunk did so, and they all yelled as the little hovercraft made a hairpin turn. Two of the Garrison vehicles crashed, and Lance couldn't help his snicker as Hunk yelled out that "Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery! Wait, no, no, he's fine."

"Big man, lean right!" shouted Keith.

Hunk did, and they flew over a gorge, landing in a groove on the opposite canyon wall. Thanks to Keith's skill, they didn't crash, but their closest pursuer wasn't so lucky. That only left one more tail to shake.

Lance looked ahead and immediately realized what Keith was going to do.

"Hunk!" he yelled. "Slide a little higher on the tail and hook your knees under the flaps! Pidge, come here!"

"Why?!" Pidge screamed, clinging to Shiro for dear life.

"Just do it!" he shouted, and Pidge nervously scooted towards him. Lance locked an arm around Pidge and Shiro and _shifted_ his density back to normal.

"You better know what you're doing, mullet!" he yelled, and Keith gave a sharp nod before accelerating—straight off the cliff.

Pidge and Hunk's screams nearly deafened Lance as their controlled fall dragged on and on and _on_ and he was seriously fixing to just jump out and end his own misery when they _finally_ reached the bottom, using the last bit of slope as a ramp to increase their speed. The Garrison vehicle was incapable of following them down, and Lance let out a whoop of victory as they flew over the desert floor.

* * *

Lance blinked sleepily, stretching out on the floor of Keith's cabin. He'd slept surprisingly well. For the first time in a long time, no images of a burning Altea or Ari's empty eyes haunted his dreams. Instead, he dreamed of the golden days, when the Paladins' idea of training was find an ice planet and plan a snow war. When Alfor's shouts of rage at the twins' childish pranks would ring out through the Castle hallways, accompanied by Zarkon and Yseult's booming laughter.

There were no tears at the bittersweet images now. It had been long enough that though his heart still bled from the millennia-old wounds, he could smile at the good memories.

Lance pried himself up off the floor, popping his shoulders as he glanced out the window. Shiro and Keith stood on a little hill a few dozen yards from the shack, Keith's hand on the older man's arm.

Lance felt sorrow spear his heart as Shiro turned slightly and his arm, face, and hair came into view. He didn't even want to _think_ about what the Galra had done to him.

He saw them turn to come back inside, and quickly woke Pidge and Hunk. When they came in, Keith marched straight for the sheet on the wall and, with no explanation, ripped it off.

Lance's eyes widened and his breath caught. That was _exactly_ where he'd hidden—

 _ **BLUE!**_

 _Yes, my Paladin?_ She inquired innocently.

 _Have you or have you not been deliberately letting out bits of your energy to attract Keith's attention?!_

Blue grew serious. _I have. It is time, my Paladin. I have been trying to warn the boy. I could sense the importance of today, as could you. I only tried to warn him._

 _Hm._ Lance stared at Keith contemplatively. _Who do you think: Red?_

Blue snickered. _Absolutely._

Lance fought down his smirk and tuned back in to the conversation.

"—fter I was booted from the Garrison," Keith was saying, "I was kinda….lost, and I found myself drawn out to this place."

Lance shook his head, a tiny, fond smile pulling at his mouth. _Blue, I swear. Another stray?_

She laughed gently, then sent him a wave of emotion that he'd always associated with a pointedly raised eyebrow. _And you were not, my Paladin?_

He tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"It was like something, some _energy,_ was telling me to search," Keith said.

Shiro turned to look at him. "For what?"

Now Lance was really interested. _You would've let him find you?_

Blue hummed. _Not without you._

Lance sent her warm wave of love and gratitude, and she purred happily.

Keith started describing how he'd found the caves, and the carvings on the walls, and Lance fought the urge to wince.

… _Ayu sobbed, the hand clutching the stone faltering as he recounted the fall of the Black Paladin…._

Lance shook his head.

"Some of them—"Keith hesitated. "Some of them have old….stains….on them."

"Stains?" Pidge repeated. "What kind of stains?"

Keith winced. "Well, I'm no expert. But to me, they look like, uh….blood stains."

There was a general intake of breath.

….. _Ayu raised a shaking, bloodstained hand to the carving of his sister's name, resting his forehead against the runes and screaming in pain as he froze his wounds over in a desperate bid for survival…_

Lance swallowed hard.

"Hey, you okay?" Hunk whispered. "You look kinda pale."

He shot the big guy a grin. "I'm good, I promise."

Hunk nodded and returned his attention to Keith and Shiro.

"—you showed up," Keith said.

Shiro nodded, then looked back at the Garrison Trio. "I should thank you all, for getting me out," he said, stepping forward and holding out his right arm. "Lance, right?"

Lance offered him a small grin and clasped the Galra hand, quietly praying that it wasn't relaying information back to the Galra Empire. Dead though Zarkon may be, his knowledge would have been well preserved, and Honerva—to be honest, he wasn't even sure if Honerva _could_ die, not with what she'd become. At any rate, she would most definitely recognize his quintessence.

And that would be very, very bad.

He heard Pidge introducing both Hunk and himself, and asking about the rest of the crew—Lance frowned. Pidge was really hooked on the missing two crew members. And he was always really touchy about the whole Kerberos mission in general…..Either close friends or relatives, then. Lance felt his shoulders sag.

Another friend that he'd let down.

Blue growled in his mind, and Lance reluctantly let the thought go.

Shiro told them what he could, and then mentioned one last thing: "They were looking for something called Voltron," he said, and it was all Lance could do not to cry out, because he could count and there were five people in this group right now and _he wanted his family back, not this group of strangers._

And then Hunk was brilliant, managing to locate the exact ridge he'd hidden Blue beneath.

Lance rolled his eyes in exasperation as they all piled back into the hovercraft with the makeshift "Find the Imaginary Element Machine" that Hunk and Pidge had whipped up in less than two hours.

Ten thousand years he'd kept this Lion hidden, and two teenagers had found her in less than two hours.

With a machine they built from a microwave, a car battery, and a fourteen-year-old broken toaster.

He'd be impressed if he wasn't so darned _irritated._

They found the cave soon enough, and all the carvings that went with it.

"Wow…." Pidge said, shoving his glasses further up his nose and lightly tracing one of the images. "I think you're right, Keith. This definitely looks like an old bloodstain." The tiny boy shivered, pulling his fingers away.

"Yeah," Keith winced. "What I could read of the writing—which isn't much, but there's about eight different languages here—told a story about betrayal, and death, and destruction. It's….not really a mood lifter."

"Yikes," Hunk muttered.

 _Paladin. Atreyu. It is time._

Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Here we go again, girl._

 _Indeed, my Paladin._

He raised a hand / _bloody, shaking fingertips carving warnings into the stone_ / and rested it against the stained Lion's head / _streaks of red marring Blue's beautiful face as he sobs out a goodbye and seals her with as much quintessence as he can spare without dying himself_ /.

The entire system of carvings lights up, and Lance winces. Yeah, he might've overcharged the carvings—just a little bit.

The others "oohed" and "ahhed", and then the floor gave out underneath them and everyone was screaming. Lance couldn't help it—he started laughing. Their faces were _hilarious!_ But he wasn't laughing when he went flying through the air and crashed down into the underground lake because he forgot how far the drop was. Because _ow._ Rocks are very uncomfortable.

He dragged himself upright, groaning and rubbing his back, before his breath caught and tears stung his eyes.

 _Blue….._

Her eyes flashed. _My Paladin._

He started walking towards her, operating completely on instinct, but Shiro's hand caught his shoulder. "Hold up a second, Lance. We don't know what this is."

"Is this it?" Pidge scooted a little bit closer. "Is this the Voltron?"

Lance almost laughed.

"It-It must be," Shiro answered, wide eyes fixed on the Lion.

"This is what's been causing all of this crazy energy out here," Keith said, unable to look away.

 _Look at you,_ Lance teased, _playing so hard to get._

Blue purred, amused.

Keith jogged forwards, calling back, "It looks like there's a force field around it."

Lance actually had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting _It's a particle barrier, you uneducated mullet head, not a force field!_

But that was obviously a very big no-no.

"I wonder how we get through this?" Keith asked no one in particular.

/ _"The Blue Lion has never lowered her particle barrier." The powerful Galra shrugged. "We don't really know why."_

 _The Balmeran laughed. "Well, what have we got to lose? Why don't we let this one try and see. His heart holds more light than a crystal."_

 _The Altean rolled his eyes. "He can try," he said, "but nothing has ever convinced Blue to open up."_

 _The serving boy bit his lip. "Maybe you just have to knock," he said shyly./_

Lance smiled, soft and bittersweet. "Maybe you just have to knock," he said, echoing his own words from ages past. He reached out and tapped lightly on the barrier.

Blue's eyes gleamed, and just like before, the barrier disintegrated in a burst of blue quintessence. The carvings beneath her glowed, and she easily flowed into all of their heads like water, showing Voltron in all its glory.

The vision faded, and Lance stared up at her in awe. He'd forgotten what Voltron looked like. It had been so long…..

Hunk started ranting about Voltron being a robot, and Pidge started speculating on where the other Lions were.

 _Green is on Irathu, Yellow is on Fialyn, Black was in the Castle, and Red—_ Lance cut himself off. He did his best not to think about Red. Or his Paladin.

"This is what they're looking for," Shiro murmured, and Keith replied with a low "Incredible."

Then Blue stood, lowering her mighty head and opening her mouth, and Lance all but ran to her cockpit. He sank down into his chair, and immediately Blue filled his head, fully awake at last.

 _My Paladin. My Cub. You are Home._

Lance closed his eyes as tears threatened yet again.

 _I'm back, Blue. And if I have anything to say about it, I am never leaving again!_

She roared her agreement out loud, and Lance bit back his laughter at the startled and terrified sounds the others let out as they crowded around his chair.

"Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out that we are in some giant futuristic alien _cat_ head right now," Hunk said, sounding remarkably calm.

Lance rolled his eyes and ignored them as he powered up all of Blue's systems. He did tell them that he could hear her in his head, which seemed to really freak them out.

"Okay," he said, after the viewport came up and Blue was at full power. "Got it _._ " He thrust both controls forward, and Blue _roared_ as she smashed her way out of the earth and back into the sky.

All of the others were screaming and grabbing onto whatever they could reach, but Lance didn't _care_ because he and Blue were _together_ again, _flying_ again. He'd never thought he'd get to do this again, but here they were…

 _Focus, Cub_ , she reminded him, gentle scolding in her words. But she was unable to hide the absolute _joy_ that filled her up from the inside out.

He sent back a wave of affirmation and tuned back into the others just in time to hear Keith's "You are the _worst pilot ever!"_

Blue growled, offended on his behalf, and proceeded to make the flight as bumpy as she possibly could.

"Isn't this awesome?!" Lance crowed.

"Make it stop," Hunk begged, teary-eyed. "Make it _stop."_

"I'm not making it do anything!" Lance said. "It's like it's on autopilot!" Which was true to a point, but still….. _Blue, stop torturing Hunk just because Keith was a jerk._

She harrumphed at that, but conceded with remarkably good grace, smoothing out the flight as she took off, heading for the atmosphere.

"Where are you going?!" Keith yelled, and Lance turned slightly to give him a "you idiot" look.

"I _just said_ it's on autopilot," he said, but Blue growled in his mind, quickly pulling his focus back to more important matters. "It says there's an alien ship approaching earth," he told them, "and that we need to stop it."

 _I am not an it!_ Blue said indignantly, showing him the approximated arrival point of the Galra cruiser.

 _I know that, girl_ , he said apologetically, running a few strategies by her that would hopefully get them past the ship and away from Earth before the Galra could attack. _But the others don't yet, and I need them to trust me, not be freaking out about how I know things like that right now._

 _Fine,_ she grumbled. _The third scenario has the highest possibility of succeeding. But you had better make it up to me later._

 _I promise,_ Lance grinned.

"What did it say, exactly?!" Pidge half-shouted, looking pretty freaked out already.

"It's not really using words," Lance said. "More like feeding ideas into my head."

"Well, if this is what they're looking for," Hunk said nervously, "maybe we should just give it to them. I mean, maybe they'll go away—"

"No!" Lance shouted before he could stop himself. But before the others could demand an explanation, Blue blasted another image into their heads. She didn't let Lance see it, which told him all he needed to know about what she'd shown them: the last world that had angered the Galra.

Hunk's face went white, Pidge attached himself to Lance's arm, and Keith and Shiro turned to each other with matching expressions of horror.

"Never mind," Hunk said in a very small voice.

They had already passed through the atmosphere when the battle cruiser dropped out of hyperspace _right in front of them_. Lance yelped and threw his Lion into a barrel roll, just barely missing the ship.

His passengers all made various sounds of displeasure, and he shot a quick "Sorry!" over his shoulder.

Shiro stared out of the screen with terrified horror in his silver eyes. "They found me," he whispered, but Lance shook his head quietly.

They had found the one they were looking for, alright. But it wasn't Shiro.

After ten thousand years of running and hiding, the Galra Empire had finally hunted down Atreyu Talyn, the Lost Paladin.

And this time, he had nowhere to run.

* * *

 **Ooh, uh-oh. Better fly faster, Ayu.**

 **Next up: finding a place long thought gone, and friends of ages past. Should be up either tomorrow or the day after.**

 **Till next time!**


	3. I Have Walked a Thousand Miles

**Hallo! Yeah, so I didn't put this up when I said I would. My bad.**

 **But I did resolve the cliffhanger! And this one ends in fluff, so you're welcome for that.**

 **SPOILERS: Still episode 1 of season 1. I'm trying to wrap this episode up, but the plot bunnies are going ballistic over this thing, and yeah.**

 **WARNINGS: I don't think there are any. If there are and I missed it, I am so sorry!  
**

 **And that's all I've got. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _I Have Walked a Thousand Miles_

* * *

... _They had found the one they were looking for, alright. But it wasn't Shiro._

 _After ten thousand years of running and hiding, the Galra Empire had finally hunted down Atreyu Talyn, the Lost Paladin._

 _And this time, he had nowhere to run..._

* * *

Lance didn't have long to stew in his panic, as the Galra ship opened fire on them.

"We've got to get Shiro and the Lion out of here!" Pidge yelled.

"Hang on!" Lance threw the controls forward, and Blue swerved into a dangerous dance, weaving between the lasers. It took all of his skill to pilot her through without truly joining their minds, but he couldn't risk that just yet.

 _We need to attack, Ayu,_ Blue told him.

 _Got it._ "Okay guys, I think I know what to do!"

"Be careful, man!" Pidge yelled. "This isn't the simulator!"

"Well that's good!" he said cheerfully. "I always wreck the simulator!"

There were terrified groans from his passengers, and Pidge shrieked, "That's not funny!"

Blue laughed.

They quickly flew a good distance away, and Lance shouted _Fire!_

Blue opened her mouth and her powerful blue beam tore into the Galra cruiser, blasting the side of the ship. A long line of explosions went off, and Pidge cheered.

Lance grinned for a moment before focusing again, bringing Blue in close, dodging the lasers with a graceful flip that had her landing claws-first onto the other side of the cruiser.

 _Rip it up, beautiful._

 _With pleasure!_ She plunged her claws into the metal and tore off two huge strips all the way down the hull, setting off even more explosions.

"Well done, Lance!" Shiro said, and Lance felt something warm curl up in his chest.

 _Definitely Black._

Blue hummed her agreement.

"Okay, I think it's time to get these guys away from our planet," he said, spinning Blue and taking off. He really hoped they had enough power to wormhole, because if they didn't, this was going to be a real short trip.

The ship immediately turned and pursued them.

"Okay, that's weird," Lance muttered, eyeing Blue's scanners. "They're not trying to shoot us, they're just chasing us."

Hunk panicked, but Lance tuned it out.

 _They think it's just you,_ he realized. _Oh, duh! I'm such an idiot. They don't know that I'm still alive. My wounds were supposed to be fatal. And they have no way of knowing that you kept me alive with your quintessence. They want to capture you so that the Empire can force a new Paladin on you._

Blue snarled. _Never._

Lance almost smiled, then quickly repressed it as they passed Kerberos.

He heard Pidge commenting on how fast they'd gotten out here, and Blue preened.

 _We're far enough from Earth to open a wormhole now,_ she told him.

He took a deep breath. _Okay, here goes nothing…_

He reached out to Blue, joining his quintessence with hers, focusing hard. And sure enough, there was an Altean wormhole.

"What is that?!" Hunk shouted.

"I don't know," Lance lied, "but the Lion wants us to go through it."

"Wh-where does it go?" Pidge asked.

A sudden shiver of pure _joy_ ran through Blue, and Lance frowned. _Blue? Where_ _ **are**_ _we going?_

 _You will see._

He turned back to the others. "The Lion's not telling. Shiro, you're the senior officer here. What do we do?"

Shiro didn't have to think for very long. "The Lion knows more about what's going on than any of us," he said firmly. "I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We decide together."

One by one, the others nodded, and Lance faced the wormhole again.

"Iverson is going to be _so_ mad when none of us show up for class tomorrow," he said as Blue picked up the pace.

They flew into the wormhole, and Lance quickly snapped their entry point shut.

 _Blue, seriously, where are we going? I need to put in an exit point._

 _Trust me,_ she said.

He rolled his eyes, then had to close them and lean his head back. He'd forgotten just how chaotic wormholes could be.

Finally, they shot through on the other side, soaring towards a blue-and-green planet that Lance didn't recognize.

"Woah," he said. "That was—"

Hunk spun to the side and vomited. "So sorry," he gasped out before turning back and heaving again.

Pidge pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'm just surprised it took this long."

"These constellations are all strange," Shiro said. "I don't know any of them. We must be a long, long way from Earth."

Lance scanned the stars himself, and a faint memory pulled at his mind. _Arus?_

Blue hummed in affirmation, and Lance raised an eyebrow. _Care to tell me why?_

 _No._

He huffed in fond irritation. "The Lion definitely wants to go to this planet," he told the others as Blue activated her thrusters and took off at full speed towards Arus. She dropped through the atmosphere and shot across the surface of the planet, probably a little faster than was necessarily safe.

 _Blue! Slow down!_

 _We're almost there, Paladin! Almost home!_

Lance's eyes widened, and his breathing hitched. _Home? What do you mean,_ _ **home?**_ _Home_ _ **blew**_ _ **up**_ _almost ten thousand deca-phoebes ago!_

 _Trust me._

He swallowed, hands beginning to shake. "Guys, personal space!" he snapped, suddenly feeling like the cockpit was too small.

"Sorry," Hunk said, "but is it just me or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole? Why are we even listening to a giant, blue, robot Lion anyway?!"

"It saved us from that alien warship, didn't it?" Lance retorted.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Keith said, straightening up, "but we're _in_ an alien warship."

Lance opened his mouth to answer, but cut himself off, shooting the boy a sour look.

"Alright, knock it off!" Shiro said firmly, giving both of them a look that made Lance feel like he and Alfor had just been caught bickering by Zarkon again. "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to make it through this mess, we have got to work together. We can't do that if we're all taking shots at each other."

 _Oh, yeah. Totally Black. She's gonna love him._

Blue purred, amused, but still didn't tell him where they were headed.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Pidge asked.

"Find out where we're headed," Shiro said. "Lance?"

"I don't know," he answered, staring down at his console. "The Lion's not talking to me anymore." _Which is really annoying,_ _ **Blue.**_

She just purred louder.

"Okay," Shiro frowned. "I guess we'll just wait and see where we end up."

Suddenly, Blue increased her speed, sending them all stumbling backwards.

"What the—" Lance muttered, rubbing the back of his head. He looked up, opened his mouth—and froze.

Because there, shining in the Arusian sunlight, was the Castle of Lions.

Tears stung his eyes, and his mouth was hanging open, but he didn't care.

 _Home!_ Blue cried out, eyes flashing, and the crystal spires lit up, a brilliant blue that could be seen for miles.

 _Home,_ Lance whispered in awe and disbelief and fragile, fragile hope began to bloom in his heart.

"Wow," murmured the others, eyes wide.

They soared past the spires, landing in the courtyard.

"Keep your guard up," Shiro cautioned, eyes sweeping back and forth.

"Is something wrong?" Pidge asked, looking up at him.

"My crew was captured by aliens once," he said grimly. "and I have no intention of letting it happen again."

Blue lowered her head and let down the ramp, and Lance's heart was in his mouth as he scrambled out of his chair.

They grouped together at the foot of the ramp, and Blue pulled her head back up.

"Oh no!" Hunk yelled. "I knew it was going to eat us!"

Lance stared up at the Castle with desperate hope as Blue roared. The doors lit up, and he almost sobbed as they slid open. They walked inside, and Lance's heart hurt at how dark and quiet it was. This Castle was supposed to be full of light and laughter and _life._

"Hello!" Hunk shouted, and the Paladin actually flinched back from the hollow echo that was the only answer.

Pidge looked up and let out a surprised sound. "This is beautiful and all, but from the size of the Lion, I kind of expected these stairs to be….bigger."

Abruptly, a blue light beamed down on them, and they all gasped in surprise. Lance relaxed when he realized it was just the identity scan.

"Hold for identity scan," said a pleasant female voice.

The blue light whizzed up their bodies, and Shiro looked up as he shouted back, "Why are we here? Where exactly _is_ here? What do you want with us?"

There was no answer, but light fixtures began to flare up, illuminating the hallway that lead to the control room.

"I guess we go that way," Pidge said with a shrug. He started walking, and the others followed him.

Lance could barely believe his eyes. The Castle. Home. It was still here. It was a good thing no one tried to talk to him, because he didn't think he could speak right now.

They walked for a long time, and Lance was admittedly confused when they passed the control room and kept going. But then the doors to the _cryopod chamber_ opened, and his breathing picked up. Could it….could it be? Had someone else survived? Maybe—just maybe—he wasn't the last of his race.

"Where are we?" Shiro wondered, and Pidge stopped next to the console.

"It's….some kind of control room," he answered. The console lit up, and Pidge spun around with a gasp.

Lance took a half step back, heart pounding wildly in his chest as not one but _two_ pods rose up from the floor.

The first pod started to open, and as soon as he saw blue and white skirts, he knew who it was. Skin as tan as his own. Wavy silver hair flowing to her waist. Pale rose facial markings.

 _Allura._

 _Sister._

Her eyes—mingled pink and sky blue—snapped open with a gasp, and she reached one arm out. "Father!" she cried, before collapsing.

Lance was frozen.

 _Allura._

 _Allura is alive._

 _Allura is alive and here and the Castle is still standing._

Shiro, being the closest to the pod, sprang forward and caught her before she could hit the ground. Lance still couldn't move.

Allura groaned softly, blinking and looking around.

"Hey, are you alright?" Shiro asked her.

She looked up at him. "Who are you?" she asked, voice hoarse. "Where am I?"

"My name is Shiro," the man answered, still supporting her. "And I honestly don't know where we are."

She stared at him for a moment longer, and Lance could see the moment her mind caught up with what she was seeing. "Your ears," she said, eyes widening.

Shiro exchanged baffled looks with the others while Lance was torn between laughing or sobbing.

"Uh, what about them?" Shiro turned back to the Princess.

She pulled back just a little bit. "They're hideous. What's wrong with them?"

Shiro's eyes widened. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with them! They work just fine!"

That was when Allura's face hardened, and she had Shiro pinned on the ground in less than two ticks. "Who are you?!" she demanded. "Where is King Alfor?! And what are you doing in my Castle?!"

"We don't know!" Shiro shouted as Keith made to draw his knife and Pidge started forward with a panicked look on his face. "A giant blue Lion brought us here, and that's all we know!"

"How do you have the Blue Lion?!" Allura demanded, releasing Shiro. "What happened to her Paladin?!"

She whipped around to look at the rest of them, and froze when she saw Lance.

He stared at her, a single tear sliding down his face.

"Ayu?" she whispered, hope and confusion in her eyes.

He sobbed out a laugh and nodded, and she threw herself into his arms.

"Ayu!"

"Allura," he choked out, trembling from head to foot. His legs gave out, and she sank to the floor with him, never loosening her hold on him. " _Allura."_

"I'm here," she said, fingers tightening in his hair. "I'm here, Ayu. I have you."

He buried his face in her shoulder and _sobbed._

He distantly heard Keith shout, "What is going on?!" and Hunk's really confused, "Lance, you _know_ her?" and Pidge's muttering of "I had today going differently in my head."

But all he cared about was the beat of Allura's heart, strong and steady beneath his ear. "I am here, Brother," she said, pressing their foreheads together. "I am here." She clasped his face gently in her hands. "I am here, Atreyu."

He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and nodded, tears still running down his face. "Ancients above, I've missed you, Lura," he gasped out.

She laughed, her own tears glittering in the blue light. "I would say that I've missed you as well, but that would be bit misleading."

Lance pulled back, putting one hand over his heart with a wounded air. "Allura! You wound me!"

Her laughter turned into a sob halfway through, and this time he held her, and she hid her face against his chest.

From this angle, he could see the gobsmacked expressions of his friends, and he rested his chin on Allura's head and looked away.

"What _happened,_ Ayu?" she asked him quietly, and he closed his eyes.

"Of all the questions to ask, you had to pick _that_ one," he murmured back, and she sat up.

"That bad?"

He just looked at her and pointedly gestured to the cryo pods and his human appearance. She winced. "Point taken."

"What is happening here?!" Keith shouted, knife in his hand. "How do you know each other?!"

"Lance?" Hunk quivered, and he sounded so afraid, so sad, that Lance felt guilt tear at his heart.

"What is going on, Lance?!" Pidge said, trying to sound angry, but Lance could see tears in his eyes.

"Lance, we need answers," Shiro said sharply, putting himself between the Alteans and the humans. That hurt more than anything, that Shiro thought they needed to be protected from him. "And we need them now."

Allura's eyes blazed. "How dare you—" she started, but Lance caught her wrist with a gentle smile and shook his head.

" _They don't know, Lura,_ " he said, dropping into Altean with relief. Oh, it felt _good_ to speak in his native tongue again.

She huffed. _"It's still rude."_

" _Yes, but not unjustified. This is the first time most of them have even seen beings from another planet,_ " he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

He climbed to his feet, and couldn't quite hide the pain in his eyes when they pulled away from him. "If I wanted to hurt you or kill you, I would have left you to the Galra," he said quietly. "I didn't have to save you."

Shiro flinched, and Lance immediately regretted his word choice. "Sorry," he murmured.

"Wait, wait, wait." Pidge shoved his glasses up his nose. "Are you telling us that you're not actually _human?!_ "

Lance sighed and _shifted,_ regaining his proper form for the first time in—he didn't want to think about how long it'd been. His ears lengthened and tapered to fine points. His hair turned silver and grew just a bit, and he could feel his facial markings growing, starting at the corners of his eyes, going to the middle of his cheekbones and then running all the way down his face. They were a forest green in color, the same color as Ari's eyes, and hers had been in ocean blue. It had amused the other Paladins to no end that Blue's facial markings were green and Green's were blue.

He saw his friends' eyes widen and their mouths drop, and swallowed hard. Allura rose to her feet and took his hand. "There you are, Brother," she murmured, pride gleaming in her eyes.

He groaned softly, flexing his shoulders. Then he reached up and rubbed his ears. "By the Ancients, I've missed these things!" he said with a grin.

Allura laughed and ran her other hand through his hair. She frowned. "It's so short."

He laughed softly. "Yeah. School regulations."

"Ah." She nodded.

"Why were you at the Garrison in the first place?" Shiro asked, still tense. "You obviously know more about space than everyone else there."

Lance sighed, running his own hands through his hair, seeing the white strands out of the corner of his eyes. "I needed to make sure they didn't get me caught," he said wearily. "I was a Paladin of Voltron, the last one, as far as anyone was concerned. I had to stay hidden. The universe literally depended on it."

Keith snorted. "Got a pretty high opinion of yourself, don't you?"

Lance's eyes flashed. "You _saw_ that Galra ship!" he snapped. "That was a single battle cruiser. A fleet is made up of three of those, plus all of their fighters, and a fleet is literally the smallest grouping that the Galra military has! Had the Empire learned I was on Earth, they wouldn't have bothered to scope it out, and they wouldn't have sent in one fleet. They would have sent in their entire armada and _they would have just blown up the entire planet."_

Keith's mouth dropped open, and the others turned pale.

Lance narrowed his eyes at the boy. "The element the Lions are made out of is tough enough to withstand such explosions. I would have been incinerated, or at the very least badly injured. Blue would have been damaged just enough that she couldn't fight back, and boom. The Galra have a Lion of Voltron. And using the data stored in Blue, they could've found all the other Lions as well. And before you know it, they have Voltron." He gave them a bitter smile. "The end."

Pidge swallowed hard, pushing his glasses up again. "So-so you had to stay hidden?"

He sagged, all the anger flowing out of him. "Yeah. Nothing and no one could know where I was. I had to stay completely below the radar."

Allura's eyes watered, and she rested a hand on the side of his face. "You've been alone this whole time," she whispered. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, not denying her words.

"So, how long have you been hiding on Earth, exactly?" Keith demanded, crossing his arms.

Lance's mouth went dry as Allura looked up at him.

"A long time," he said hoarsely. "A very, very long time."

Allura's brow furrowed in concern. "How long?" she asked, just a bit of panic beginning to work its way into her voice. "And where are we? I need to know." She turned and started over to the console.

Lance's eyes widened, and he quickly caught Allura's wrists. "You're on Arus," he told her. "You're on Arus, and before you do anything else, we need to open the other pod."

Her eyes focused on his, and he looked away. "Fine," she said, tight-lipped. "But after that, you _will_ tell me what's going on, why we're the only ones in the Castle right now, and why you won't meet my eyes for longer than five ticks."

He cringed. "I will," he promised.

Allura tapped a few things on the console, and the second pod opened.

Lance's eyes widened as a blue uniform came into view, with aqua facial markings and vivid orange hair. Deep blue eyes opened sleepily, only to widen drastically when they landed on Pidge.

"Ah!" he shouted. "Enemy combatants!" he leaped straight out of his pod, and Pidge squeaked, practically teleporting over to and up Shiro, clinging to his shoulders.

The Altean hit the ground and immediately started to fall.

Lance jumped forward with a tearful laugh. "You might wanna give it a minute, Coran. You've got a pretty bad case of the sleep-chamber knees."

Coran's eyes widened, and he grabbed the boy's shoulders. "Atreyu?" he breathed, and Lance nodded, smile widening even as more tears escaped his eyes. "Atreyu!" Coran grabbed him in a rib-crushing hug and spun him around until, still a bit uncoordinated from his hibernation, he tripped, crashing into Allura and sending all three Alteans to the ground.

Lance hadn't laughed that hard since Altea fell.

"By the Ancients, lad," Coran said as they clambered back to their feet. "How did you survive?!"

Lance's smile faltered. "I—"he started, but Allura cut him off.

"Coran," she said, "According to Ayu, we're on Arus, but I still need to know how long we've been asleep. Could you run a systems check, to see if the Castle has been damaged?"

"Sure thing, Princess!" he replied cheerfully, to which there was a general explosion from the humans.

"Princess?!"

Lance's eyes widened. "Right. Sorry. Guys, may I present Princess Allura of Planet Altea. This is Coran, the Royal Advisor and general nutjob—"

"Hey!"

"—Sorry, Coran," he chuckled.

"And you?" Keith said shortly.

Lance blinked. "What?"

"Who are you?" Shiro clarified.

"Oh." Lance cleared his throat. "My name—"he took a deep breath. "My name is Atreyu Talyn, and I am the Blue Paladin of Voltron."

There was a beat of silence, and Lance found himself standing straighter, tension draining out of him, as he truly owned himself for the first time in ten thousand years.

Shiro recovered first. "So you knew how to do all those things with the Lion—"

"Because I've done them before," Lance finished. "Yeah. But you can still call me Lance."

Hunk stared at him for a moment longer before he shrugged. "Okay," he said.

They all gaped at him.

"What?" Hunk said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "He's still Lance, just with white hair and weird stuff on his face."

Lance sprinted across the room and all but tackled Hunk. "Thanks, buddy," he choked out, trying to hold on to his emotions.

Hunk laughed, rubbing his back. "No problem, dude."

Allura smiled and reached for the console. "Well then. I'll just—"

But Lance stopped her again. "Allura….I don't think you want to do that."

Allura frowned. "You're beginning to frighten me a bit, Ayu."

He flinched minutely. "Sorry. And do me a favor: just call me Lance."

She tilted her head in a wordless question, and he gestured to the humans. "They've got enough to deal with," he said with a grin. "Let's not make their primitive little brains work harder than they have to."

"Oh, har har," Pidge griped. "Hunk, I'm with you. This is _definitely_ the same troll that's been driving me up the wall since I met him."

Lance smiled at him, soft and grateful, and Pidge marched over, jumped straight up and grabbed Lance's ear, dragging him down to his level. "Don't go getting any ideas," he said, and Lance laughed, grabbing him in a hug.

"Thanks, you little gremlin," he said warmly.

"Yeah, yeah, lemme go," Pidge grumbled, trying and failing to hide a matching smile.

Allura gave him a look. "Ay—Lance," she said. "We got Coran. Now I need answers." She stepped up to the console, and when he didn't stop her, she started typing. Her fingers flew across the screens, and Lance swallowed hard, knowing exactly what she would find.

He bit his lip and turned away at Allura's horrified gasp. "No," she said. "No, this can't be right." She turned to look at him. "This says we've been asleep for _ten thousand deca-phoebes!"_

Coran made a strangled noise, and Lance bowed his head.

"But—"Allura was desperate. "This can't be right. It _can't_ be. It says—"her voice faltered. "Ayu, this says that all of the Paladins are _dead_!"

He clenched his fists. "That's because most of us are," he managed.

"No," she shook her head. "No! My father—Ayu, what happened to my father?!"

"I don't know!" he shouted, finally loosing control. "I don't know! The last thing I saw was Altea burning and Zarkon dragging Red's _completely deactivated form_ out of the _wreckage of our planet!"_

Dead silence fell, and Lance realized too late what he had said.

"Altea….burning?" Coran repeated, voice barely above a whisper.

Lance turned to him. The adviser's face was white, and his hands were holding onto his knees tight enough to leave bruises.

"I—"he faltered.

"What do you mean, "burning"?" Coran demanded. "Altea can't be gone! It's an entire planet!"

"We destroyed Daibazaal easily enough," Lance shot back, but there was no fire in his words. "Zarkon got the Druids, and—"

"My wife was down there," Coran said, tears pooling in his eyes. "And _my son_. Are you absolutely certain that it's gone?"

Lance's throat closed, and he nodded. "I'm sure," he rasped. "There were no survivors."

"Zarkon had the Red Lion," Allura repeated. She stared at him. "You _watched_ Zarkon capture the Red Lion."

The insinuation was clear in her words, and Lance just nodded. It was true. He had sat there and done nothing as Zarkon captured Alfor.

Blue did not agree.

 _You did no such thing,_ she snarled in his head. _The girl needs to watch her tongue._

 _She's in shock,_ he reprimanded. _Give her a minute._

"I tried, Allura," he said, desperate for her to understand. "I tried, I swear to you I tried. But I had Blue and Green, and I had to get them hidden. There's a reason the Castle thinks I'm dead—Zarkon tried very, very hard to make sure that I was. But I swear to you, sister, that I tried."

Her eyes pooled with tears, but she shook her head, backing away from him, pain still burning in her eyes.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt," Shiro said, actually sounding regretful, "but….what's a deca-phoebe?"

"It's roughly the equivalent of one Earth year," Lance answered, voice cracking.

Shiro sucked in a sharp breath, but before he could speak again, Pidge broke in.

"You're over _ten thousand years old?!"_ he squawked, glasses sliding down his nose.

Lance gave him a tiny grin. "Yeah," he said. "Blue shared her quintessence—that is, her life energy—with me. She literately can't run out of it, so it wasn't really a problem to keep me around."

"Wow," Pidge muttered.

But Shiro had latched onto something else. "You've been hiding on a strange planet, alone, for over ten thousand years?"

Lance looked at him and nodded silently.

"But you...You had your Lion, right?" Keith asked.

Lance shook his head. "I couldn't get to her without breaking the runes that hid her quintessence," he responded.

"I really hate to ask this," Pidge said, picking at his fingernails. "But…Did you have a family, Lance?" He looked up, wide honey eyes finding blue. "You were always talking about your family at the Garrison."

Allura's eyes widened, and Coran sucked in a sharp breath.

Lance just nodded. "I did," he whispered. "My mom and dad and five siblings: two brothers and three sisters."

Keith winced, and Hunk's eyes teared up.

"Did—"Shiro hesitated. "Did any of them—"

"Survive? No." Lance closed his eyes. "No one on Altea survived. That blast was….It was massive. It destroyed _everything._ "

Allura's hands were over her mouth. "I didn't even think," she whispered. "You had to _watch_ that, didn't you?"

He nodded.

Allura sobbed, staggering forward and pressing their foreheads together. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ayu, I didn't mean it. I know you wouldn't-I'm sorry..."

He sagged against her with a ragged sigh of relief, hugging her tight, unable to speak.

Coran wrapped them both in his arms for just a moment. "We're all that's left," he said. "It's us three."

They clung to each other for a timeless moment, and then Allura's ear twitched suddenly. "Or maybe us seven!" she cried, racing over to her pod and lifting up the tiny mice that had been hiding in the bottom.

Lance laughed in delight as he recognized them. "No way!" he held out his hands, and Plachu scurried into them, crossing his tiny arms and glaring.

Allura laughed as the other three climbed up to her shoulders and swung on strands of her hair. "Not so alone after all," she said with a smile, turning to the other Alteans. They smiled back at her, and for the first time in a _long_ time, Lance felt like he had a home again.

* * *

 **Woo. Okay, that was a little angstier than I had planned. It was supposed to just be a big, fluffy, happy reunion, but that obviously didn't happen.**

 **Love it, hate it, let me know!**

 **Next up: The Lions of Voltron come home.**

 **Till next time!**


	4. To Find Where I Belong

**Hello, darlings!**

 **So you know when I said that Episode one was only going to cover two or three chapters? Yeah, I lied. There's going to be one more after this, and then we should theoretically be getting to episode two.**

 **And boy, did I have a field day with this one!**

 **Um, there are a couple of scenes in this portion of the episode that I didn't write. They still happened, and they're alluded to, but I needed to cut down a little on length and time to get this episode done, so yeah. I will probably be doing that in several places throughout this story, so if there's ever a scene that I cut that you want to see, drop me a review or a PM, and I'll write in into a oneshot. It won't be put into this story, because that would totally negate the whole point of taking it out in the first place, but I will be more than happy to write it!**

 **Here we go, chapter four!**

 **Sorry, sorry. Before I forget:**

 _"speaking in Altean"_

 _A Paladin mentally speaking to a Lion_

 ** _Lions speaking to each other or the Paladins._** **  
**

 **Also:**

 **WARNINGS: Mentions of bad injuries, character death, and blood.**

 **SPOILERS: Still just season 1, ep 1.**

* * *

 _And Still I Wander On_

* * *

 _..."Not so alone after all," she said with a smile, turning to the other Alteans. They smiled back at her, and for the first time in a **long** time, Lance felt like he had a home again..._

* * *

The Alteans reluctantly separated, but both Coran and Allura maintained contact with Lance, which he was beyond grateful for.

Allura took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. "Well," she said briskly. "Let's get to it then. We can have a more in-depth discussion of all that's happened later, if that's alright with you, Lance."

He nodded. "Definitely. You deserve to know."

She smiled at him. "But for now, first thing's first. We need to—"

Alarms blared through the Castle, red lights flashing, and Plachu bristled, growling at the ceiling.

"Oh come _on,_ " Lance groaned. "We've been here for like, ten minutes!"

"A Galra cruiser has locked onto our location!" Coran said.

"How did they find us?!" Allura asked, stepping forward.

Lance winced. "Um, that might be my fault."

Everyone turned to look at him, and he shrugged. "Hey, I haven't opened a wormhole in over ten thousand years. I'm a little rusty. Sue me. I probably left behind a good amount of quintessence residue. Any of the Druids could have tracked it."

Keith's mouth twisted on one side. "I'm not going to pretend to understand what any of that means." He turned to Coran. "How long until they get here?"

Coran held up his fingers. "Um, seven….carry the two…four…..Um, at their speed, I'd say about two quintents?"

"For the humans in the room, a quintent is a day." Lance frowned. "And I'd bump that down to one, Coran. From what I saw on Earth, they've really upped their ante where technology is concerned."

Coran gave him a bewildered look. "Upped their…what?"

"It's an Earth figure of speech," Shiro explained with a grin. "It means they've improved."

"Ah, got it."

Allura's fists clenched. "Let them come," she all but snarled, and Lance felt a shiver run down his spine at the fury in her eyes. "By the time they drag their carcasses through the atmosphere, Voltron will be waiting for them." She turned to face them.

Shiro frowned. "Princess," he said, "there are five of these Lions. Where are we going to find the rest?"

"If I may," Lance shot a glance at Allura, and continued once she nodded. "Black is here in the Castle. We locked her in to keep Zarkon from getting his claws on her. The catch is—"

Shiro gasped suddenly. "You've been saying that name—Zarkon—and I've been trying to figure out why it sounds familiar, but…I remember now. I was his prisoner."

Lance felt all the color drain from his face, and he staggered. Hunk and Pidge quickly latched onto him on either side, and he clung to them. "What?" he croaked.

Allura's hands were gripping the console tight enough that it was starting to crumple. "He's still alive?" her voice was shaky.

Coran's eyes were wide. "But if he's still alive," he started, "then that means that—"

"Honerva is as well," Lance gave a hysterical laugh and raked his fingers through his hair. "Oh, quiznak. I'm not—I can't—"

Allura took a shaky breath. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?"

He nodded. "Right, right, right." He cleared his throat. "And for those of you who don't know, Honerva was Zarkon's wife."

Shiro winced, and the others made varying sounds of disgust.

Lance laughed. "Yeah. Anyway, there was an accident, and….well, it changed them, and not for the better. I'm honestly not even that surprised that they're still alive, I was just….really, _really_ hoping they wouldn't be."

Shiro rested a gentle hand on his shoulder and gave him a compassionate smile. "That really sucks," he said.

Lance offered a small smile in return. "Yeah."

Allura straightened. "But back to the subject at hand. Ayu, the Lions?"

"Right." He cleared his throat. "Black is here in the Castle, like I said. The catch is that her hangar can only be opened when all four of the other Lions are present. That would have taken the cooperation of all four other Paladins, which meant that Zarkon really couldn't get to her even if he managed to get the Castle."

"That's…actually really smart," Keith said, sounding surprised.

"It was Ari's idea," Lance said, eyes going distant.

Pidge frowned. "Ari?" he repeated. "Who's that?"

Lance shook his head, trying very hard not to think about the way that Allura's hands were over her mouth, and Coran looked decades older. "The Green Paladin," he answered Pidge. "Speaking of which, Green is on Irathu. Yellow is on Fialyn, and…."he bowed his head. "I don't know where Red is. Zarkon could have hidden her anywhere in the Galra Empire."

"Fortunately," Coran said, "we've got a shortcut to finding her. Follow me!"

He led them to the main control room, and Allura stepped up, activating the crystal and the star-map.

"King Alfor connected the Lions to Allura's life force," Coran explained to the wide-eyed humans. "So she can always track the Lions."

"Wait, when did he do that?!" Lance exclaimed.

Coran frowned at him. "When you were utterly unconscious and barely alive in a cryo-regeneration chamber," he said shortly, and Lance swallowed hard.

"Oh."

"If your injuries weren't already ten-thousand deca-phoebes old, I'd drag you down to medical and lock you in a pod for the rest of the movement on principle alone," Coran said grumpily. Then he got a gleam in his eyes. "I might just do it anyway."

He moved towards Lance, who quickly backed up with his hands in the air. "Whoa, hey, Coran, let's take it easy, there, bud. Allura, help!"

She looked over at them and snorted. "Help Coran?" she said. "Gladly. You looked _awful_ when Blue brought you back the first time, and then you went and jumped straight back into battle!"

"What happened to 'No such thing as pushing too hard'?!" Lance yelped, diving behind Shiro as Coran lunged at him. The humans were laughing.

Allura snickered before growing serious again. "Step forward, all of you," she said. "Coran, leave Lance alone."

Sulkily, Coran stomped off to the side and crossed his arms as the new Paladins lined up in front of the Princess.

"As you have found," she said, "the Lions choose their pilots. It's an incredible bond, and actually quite mysterious. We don't fully understand it, but we do know that it cannot be forced in any way. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion."

Hunk frowned. "Quintessence?" he muttered.

"Life-force," Lance answered. "Basically, it's just a really concentrated form of energy that is generated by all living beings. The Alteans knew how to directly manipulate it. It looks a lot like what you Earthlings call magic, though up here, it's just basic science."

"The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron," Allura said, turning the star-map until Black's hologram was in front of Shiro. "Her pilot must be one who is a born leader, always in control, and someone whose men will always follow, no matter the circumstances."

Lance closed his eyes.

 _/ "Atreyu! I need you to kick backwards!"_

" _Backwards?!"_

" _Do you trust me?"_

" _Always!"_

" _On my mark, then. One…two….three….Now!"_

 _A massive crash, a close shave, and then five voices whooping in victory._

" _You did it!"_

" _Way to go, Ayu!"_

" _Well done, small one!"_

" _Thanks for directing me, Kon."_

" _No, Ayu. Thank you for trusting me enough to follow my directions."_

" _Hey, I'm your leg, boss man. You say jump, I say how high!"_

 _A collective groan._

" _Where you go I go!"_

" _Please make him stop."_

" _We're attached at the hip!"_

" _ **AYU!"**_ _/_

He shook the memory off, clenching his fists and blinking back the tears.

"Shiro," Allura said. "You will pilot the Black Lion."

Lance reached out to Blue. _Totally called it._

 _I'm so proud,_ she deadpanned, and he grinned.

"The Yellow Lion is caring and kind." Allura lightly shoved Yellow's hologram, and it floated over to Hunk, who looked amazed. "He requires a pilot that has a heart as loving as his own, one who will put others before himself. Yellow is the left leg of Voltron, and as such, his Paladin must lift up and support the others. Hunk, you will pilot the Yellow Lion."

Lance shook his head with a laugh. "Could not have picked a better person in all the universe, my man. I kid you not."

Hunk blushed and stammered, but his eyes were practically glowing with pride and excitement.

 _/ "I'm—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up—"_

" _It is not a problem, small one. What is on your heart? I sense that it is restless."_

" _You really need your rest, Yseult, you're still injured—"_

" _Come here, small one." Strong yet gentle arms giving a loving embrace. "I am here. I am fine. Rest easy, small one. I have you."/_

"The Green Lion," Allura's voice went soft, and Lance's spine snapped straight. "The Green Lion is curious and brave. She is—well—"

"I would say reckless," Lance put in. "Ari always said that 'daring' sounded much nicer."

Allura laughed. "That _does_ sound familiar. Green requires a Paladin of intellect and _daring_." She smiled and spun the map. "Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion."

/ _"Ayu! The weird robot-cat thing is looking at me!"_

" _No way! Ari, the Green Lion is like Blue! She never responds to anyone!"_

 _A deep laugh. "Well, well, well, what do you know!"_

 _A broad grin. "Welcome to the family, Green Paladin."_

 _A moment of silence. Then…_

" _What the quiznak is a Paladin?!"/_

Lance forced back the wave of sorrow that always accompanied thoughts of Ari. Pidge glanced up at him, fidgeting nervously with his glasses, and Lance set a gentle hand on his shoulder. "She would've loved you," he said softly, and Pidge straightened.

"I'll do my best to make her proud," he promised, just as quiet, and Lance felt tears sting his eyes.

"You will," he said.

Allura blinked hard a few times and cleared her throat. "The Blue Lion—"

"Is the handsome-est and best pilot of the bunch," Lance broke in, shooting her finger guns, and she glared.

"The. Blue. Lion," Allura enunciated, narrowing her eyes at him, "Is the right leg of Voltron. She supports the entire team. She is the most loyal, and she is the heart of the team. As such, her Paladin must also be loyal. He supports the others through simple ways, perhaps making them laugh when tensions are high, or bringing them food when they've been buried in paperwork all day."

Lance blushed, staring at the floor.

/ _The particle barrier vanished in a starburst of blue quintessence, and a voice roared in his mind._

 _ **MINE /**_

Allura's eyes dimmed slightly, then. "The Red Lion," she said, and Lance swallowed hard, "is temperamental and the most difficult to master. He is—"she broke off, closing her eyes.

Coran stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, and Lance seamlessly took over for her, moving to the front of the group so all the other Paladins could see him.

"Red is incredibly fast and very agile, but he's much more unstable than any of the others," he said. "His pilot cannot rely on skill alone—he has to rely on _instinct._ Red doesn't give you much time to think. You kinda just gotta wing it."

/ _"Ancients above, Alfor, watch where you're going!"_

" _Sorry! He's just really fast!"_

" _We've noticed!"_

" _Stop thinking so hard and just_ _ **trust Red**_ _, you quiznaking moron!"_

" _Oh, fly your own Lion, Ayu!"/_

"Keith," the boy looked up and met his eyes. "You will pilot the Red Lion."

Keith swallowed and nodded.

Allura cleared her throat. "I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates just yet, but I think that's more of an error within the Castle systems. After ten thousand years, it might need some work."

Lance snickered and quickly put Shiro and Keith between himself and Coran. "Sounds like a job for The Coranick," he said as loudly as he could.

Coran's face turned as red as an exploding sun. "Why, you little—"

Red's hologram let out a roar, cutting off the irate adviser. All five of the holograms sprinted together over their heads, connecting and forming Voltron.

"Once you've all come together with your Lions and each other," Allura said, "you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior in all of existence."

"The Defender of the Universe," Lance said softly.

Hunk laughed. "Awesome!" Then he bit his lip. "Okay, we're in the Lions, got that part. But how do Lions turn into legs and arms? Also, is this going to be a long trip? And I have to pee. Do you people pee?"

Shiro ignored him like a pro. "We don't have a lot of time," he said. "Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you—" He hesitated suddenly, and Lance tilted his head.

"You alright, Shiro?" he asked.

"Well, it's just," Shiro sighed. " _You're_ the senior officer here. Technically, you should be calling the shots."

Lance smiled at him. "But I'm not the Black Paladin, am I?" he shook his head. "You are my leader, Shiro. If I have a problem with something you say or do, I'll come talk to you about it. But _you_ are the head of Voltron. Where you tell me to go, I will go."

Shiro looked a little overwhelmed and a lot touched. "Thank you," he said. "In that case, you take Hunk and go get Yellow." Then he turned to Keith and put his hand on his shoulder. "You stay here. If you find the Red Lion, go get it."

Lance scratched the back of his head. "Okay, this is going to sound really bad after what I just said, but…."

Shiro grinned at him. "Go ahead."

Lance turned to Keith. "Don't go alone," he said firmly. "I don't care if the Castle says that Red's on a beautiful planet five minutes away with no sentient beings that's been abandoned for two thousand years. Do _not_ go alone. No matter what. Promise me, Keith."

Something in his voice or face must have been pretty convincing, because Keith immediately gave his word. Satisfied, Lance turned back to Shiro with a sheepish look. "Sorry."

"No, no," Shiro shook his head. "That's actually a really good point, and I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think about it myself."

"While you're gone," Allura said, "I'll get the Castle's defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed, I fear."

"This way, Shiro, Pidge!" Coran said cheerfully. He started for the door. "I'll get a pod set up for you so you can grab the Green Lion!"

"Wait!" Shiro caught Pidge's shoulder as he walked after Coran. "Lance, what can we expect from these planets?"

Lance winced. "I honestly can't tell you, Shiro," he said. "It's been ten thousand years, and I've had no contact with anyone outside of Earth. When I was there, Fialyn was a peaceful planet covered in grasslands. Irathu—"he pursed his lips. "I don't remember much, but I know that it's a jungle planet. The natives are incredibly kind and helpful. If they haven't changed, there should be a specific clan of them that can lead you straight to Green." He shrugged. "That's what they said they'd do, anyway."

Shiro nodded. "Got it. Good luck."

Hunk waved. "You too!"

* * *

The door to the bridge opened, and Lance and Hunk walked in, rubbing their backs and groaning.

"Whoa, are you guys alright?!" Pidge asked, scrambling over to them.

"We're good," Lance groaned. "Ugh, geez. That was a _nightmare._ "

"Yeah," Hunk complained. He shoved Lance— _gently_ —in the shoulder. "What happened to peaceful, dude?"

"It's literally been ten thousand years!" Lance yelped, flailing his arms. "It's been a while! When I was there, the entire planet was covered in grasslands as far as you could see, and there were packs of yalmors everywhere! It was wonderful and beautiful and _yes, it was peaceful, Hunk!"_

"Yeah," Pidge looked up at Shiro. "We had a rough time, too." He grinned.

"Oh, don't you lie to me, you little gremlin," Lance growled, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. "Irathu is just as Galra-free as it was in my time."

Pidge shot him a smug look. "But it's been ten thousand years. How do you know that if you weren't there?"

Lance froze, and Allura turned to look at him in concern. He cleared his throat. "Because Green's Paladin is buried there," he said, very carefully. "And she would tear apart any who dared to desecrate her resting place."

Allura's hands clapped over her mouth, and tears flooded her eyes. "Ayu," she choked out. "You said that _you_ hid Green."

He nodded. "I did."

"But that means—Ancients above, Ayu, did you have to bury her?!"

He closed his eyes, and Allura threw her arms around him. "I'm sorry," she gasped. "I'm so sorry, Ayu. I've been sitting here this whole time, thinking why didn't he do more, and you had to—you had to—"

He held her tight. _"It's alright, sister,_ " he murmured. "For you, the war was yesterday. You just lost Altea this morning. I've had over ten millennia to get used to it. And—and I should have done more, I could've overpowered his commands if I had tried. I could've gone back for him."

"No," she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "My father knew the risks. You all did. And you all gave everything to keep Voltron and the universe safe." She took his face between her hands and made him meet her eyes. "My father would have been so proud of all that you accomplished," she said firmly. "Of this I have no doubt whatsoever."

He touched their foreheads together and murmured a quiet thanks before drawing back again. "Did we manage to find Red?"

Allura winced but nodded, and Coran nodded. "Yes!" he said cheerfully. "Good news is, he's very close! Bad news, he's on board the Galra ship that's orbiting Arus. But wait! Good news again! We're on Arus!"

Shiro surged forward, restrained panic in his voice. "They're already here?!"

"Yes, well," Coran rubbed the back of his neck. "Finger counting….it's more—it's more of an art than a science, really."

Lance snickered, and was about to say something that would probably have gotten him stuck on cleaning and maintenance duty for the next three movements when the Castle was hailed.

" _Princess Allura, I am Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire,"_ said the massive, enhanced Galra that appeared on the screen.

Lance quickly slid behind Shiro, _shifting_ his features back to human. He did _not_ want Zarkon to learn of his whereabouts—or that he was even still alive, really.

Sendak continued. " _I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."_

The message ended, and Lance couldn't help but start to laugh. "Oh, wow. Yeah, how about _no._ "

Hunk made a tiny, terrified sound, and Shiro hastily said, "Okay, guys, let's not panic."

"Not panic?" Hunk repeated. "Not panic?! The scary, purple alien thing—"Allura snorted, and Coran just looked offended on the Galra's behalf. "—is driving—"

"Piloting," Lance corrected in a bored tone.

"—is piloting his battleship straight towards us. We only have four Lions—"

"Technically only three working Lions," Pidge said.

Hunk stopped and looked down at him. "That's right, thank you, Pidge," he said, sarcasm just dripping from his voice, and Lance started snickering as Hunk continued. " _Three_ working Lions, and a Castle that's, like, 10,000 years old!"

"Actually," Coran said, "it's 10,600 years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather—"

"Thanks, Coran," Hunk said, slapping a hand over Coran's mouth. "Thank you for that. See!?" he turned back to Shiro. "Now is the perfect time to panic!"

And Lance lost it. Howling with laughter, he doubled up with his hands on his knees. "Oh, Hunk, buddy," he gasped. "Have I mentioned recently how much I love you?"

Hunk glared at him. "This isn't funny, Lance!"

"Actually," Pidge snorted a little bit. "It really kind of is. You're seriously freaking out, and it is pretty funny."

"Wait a minute!" Allura cut them off. "I forgot about the particle barrier!"

"Oh, yeah," Lance and Coran said together.

Lance jogged forward and tapped a few things on Coran's console. "Okay, problem. Sendak's cruiser is outfitted with an ion cannon. The barrier won't hold up against that for long."

Hunk swallowed hard. "Panic now?"

"No," Shiro said. "All we need to do is come up with a plan of attack. Quickly."

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "Allura," he said seriously. "I'm not sure if we can even _get_ Red right now."

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean—"he groaned. "Okay, guys, this is going to sound horrible, but I swear I'm not trying to be offensive. Pidge and Hunk aren't pilots. Hunk is the best engineer I've ever met—even better than some of the Altean Engineering Corps—and Pidge has a way with technology that I've _never_ seen. But they're not pilots. And even though Shiro and Keith are, piloting a Lion is _nothing_ like piloting an Earthen ship."

Allura frowned. "You could teach them."

"Allura, we have a half varga, at most," he said. "Do you actually think I can teach them what they need to know about piloting a Voltron Lion in thirty doboshes?"

Her hands tightened into fists. "Are you suggesting we run away?" she asked coldly.

Lance raked his fingers through his hair. "Yes. No! I don't know. I just—"

Pidge glared at him. "We can't just leave! The Galra are going to keep enslaving people until we stop them!"

"Well, yeah, but Lance has a point," Hunk said. "We tried to find all the Lions. We really did. But I say we wormhole away and live to fight some other time."

"No!" Pidge said.

"Sendak would follow us, and leave Arus alone," Lance said.

"Or," Keith snapped. "He could destroy the planet and then come after us anyway. Staying is our only option."

Lance could've screamed. He just wanted them _safe,_ couldn't they see that?!

"Allura, this is a war that you're asking them to fight," he said, desperation beginning to leak into his voice. "A war we couldn't win ten thousand years ago, when we knew each other inside and out and had been flying Voltron for _years_. How do you expect five strangers to be able to do it in a _day?_ "

"We have a duty, a duty to protect the freedom of the universe, Atreyu!" Allura said, anger beginning to build in her tone. "Or did you forget that, when you ran away the first time?"

Coran sucked in a breath, and Lance felt his face go pale.

 _"I have forgotten very little, Princess_ ," he said, soft and cold as the element he commanded. " _I have not forgotten watching Yseult's body fall to the ground with no light in his eyes. I have not forgotten barely escaping the flames of Altea with Arianwen's body in my arms. I have not forgotten watching Red's flaming body being dragged up into Zarkon's flagship. I have not forgotten how it felt to look Zarkon in the eye and see nothing but hate as he plunged his bayard through my chest. I have not forgotten what it feels like to die."_

He raised his head, eyes frozen. Allura was staring at him in horror. " _I remember losing them all, one by one, as I could do nothing but watch. And now you ask me to take_ _ **children**_ _and throw them headlong into the same situation."_

"We must—we _must_ fight," Allura said, but she sounded much less sure of herself.

Lance only tightened his jaw. "As you command," he murmured, slightly bowing his head. "You are my Princess, and I will follow you to whatever end."

Allura swallowed hard. "I don't—Coran?" she turned to her adviser, who was looking back and forth between the two of them like he didn't know who to hug first.

He gave her a gentle smile. "Maybe your father will have some advice for you."

Lance choked on air, and Allura's eyes lit up with hope. "My…father?!"

Coran held out an arm. "Come with me, Princess. Ayu, do you—"

He shook his head almost desperately, backing up so quickly he ran into Hunk.

Coran's face twisted with pain, but he nodded, respecting the Paladin's decision before leading Allura out of the room.

"Hey, buddy, what was all that?" Hunk wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he realized he was shaking.

"Nothing," he managed.

"Um, no." Pidge shoved his glasses up his nose. "That was a lot of things, Lance, and nothing isn't one of them. Also, it's very rude to speak a foreign language in front of others who don't know it."

Lance had to snort a laugh. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, gremlin."

He growled at him. "I am not a gremlin!"

"Well, when you really think about it…." Hunk trailed off as Pidge shot him a murderous look.

"I AM NOT A GREMLIN!"

Lance shook his head as Pidge literally tackled Hunk. Those two.

"Hey," said a quiet voice beside him. Shiro.

"Hey, oh fearless leader," he said with a grin.

Shiro snorted and rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth before he grew serious again. "How are you holding up?" There was a hesitation in his eyes, like he wasn't sure it was really his place to ask this, but there was also genuine care and concern.

Lance's shoulders drooped, and his smile disappeared.

Shiro sighed. "I figured."

He didn't say anything else, but a big, warm hand landed on the Altean's shoulder. Lance leaned into it, and Shiro just wrapped the arm all the way around his shoulders and tugged him over. Lance went without really thinking about it, and just let Shiro support him.

* * *

They decided to fight.

* * *

Stepping into the armory of the Castle was like stepping back in time—for, like, the sixtieth time that _day_.

"Each Paladin has their own suit of armor," Allura said, gesturing to the cases around them.

He heard the others making surprised and impressed noises, and couldn't hide his smile.

"But we are missing the blue and green armors," Allura admitted. "Ayu, do you know what happened to them?"

 _/Broken, burned, bloodstained pieces slicing into skin, burned into the bones, trying to get it_ _ **off/**_

Lance blinked hard. "They're in the Lions," he answered.

She nodded briskly. "Excellent. Pidge, if you'll go and retrieve—"

"Um, I think it'd be best if I got them myself," Lance interrupted.

Pidge frowned at him. "I think I can handle finding a suit of armor, Lance."

"No, it's not that, it's…." he sighed. Then he clenched his jaw. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." He spun sharply on one heel to make his way down to Blue's hangar.

He was back in ten doboshes, his all-but destroyed armor in a bag over his shoulder. He strode over to the machine in the back that fixed the armor—he knew it had a technical name, but he was a _pilot_ , not an _engineer_ —and opened it.

"Ayu?" Allura sounded confused. "What are you—" her voice cut off with a hoarse gasp as she got a good look at the twisted, blood stained, and broken armor in his hands.

The blue portions were burned and cracked, and the white was stained with so much red it was unrecognizable. There was a massive, ragged hole in the middle of the breastplate, and a corresponding one in the back.

"Ayu…." She whispered. "How are you alive?"

He shrugged, starting up the mending process. "I shouldn't be. But Blue helped me freeze the wounds over until they healed, and shared her quintessence with me to keep me young."

"That's—" Keith swallowed hard. "Is all that blood…..yours?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah."

Shiro took a sharp breath. "All those stains in the cave. Were those…"

"Mine? Yes." Lance sighed. "I was having a bad day."

Coran snorted, walking over and punching another code into the machine, speeding up the process. "A bad day. That's what you're going with."

Lance snickered. "Well, it's true."

Coran rolled his eyes.

That was when Pidge came staggering into the room, face white, with a bag over his shoulder. He looked up at Allura. "It's kind of….broken," he said, voice very small, hands shaking.

"Over here, Pidge!" Lance called. "There's another—what are these things again, Coran?"

The man beamed, stroking his mustache. "So glad you asked, Ayu. These are high-tech, crystal-powered, Mendakons. They were built over 10,543 deca-phoebes ago by—"

"Got it, thanks, Coran," Lance cut him off. "Anyway, they fix the armor. There's another…. _Mendakon…._ over here."

Pidge nodded, making his way over. He pulled the green armor out of the bag, and Allura let out another sound. Coran turned pale and looked away, tears stinging his eyes, and Lance sighed, stepping forward and taking it from Pidge.

"I've got it," he murmured, and with a nod, Pidge bolted for Hunk.

Lance tried very hard not to look at the wreckage in his hands, and he mostly succeeded, only getting little glimpses of blood-soaked white and burned, buckled green.

He took a deep breath as he started the cycle. "Right," he said. "Those should be done in about twenty doboshes, give or take a few ticks." He spun around. "What's next, Lura?"

"Bayards," she answered, reigning her emotions back in. "The traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It will change its form according to its bearer." She activated the containment unit in front of her, revealing the Red and Yellow bayards. Lance handed Pidge the Green one, and lifted the Blue one for the first time since he'd crashed on Earth.

He watched Keith's transform into a wicked sword, Hunk's turn into an _awesome_ shoulder cannon, and Pidge's turn into a—what even was that? It was adorable.

"Aww, you got a cute little bayard," he said teasingly.

Pidge glance up at him, then planted the thing in his ribs and _dear_ _quiznakancientsabovethat'selectricity!_

He hit the floor with a muffled shriek, and over his pained groaning, heard Pidge's satisfied, "Yeah. It is cute."

Allura laughed.

Hunk came over and helped Lance pry himself off the floor.

"Ow," he muttered. "You'd think that I'd have learned _not_ to underestimate the Green Paladin at this point."

Hunk snickered. "Dude, I'm glad you're okay, but you totally deserved that."

He sighed. "Yeah, I did."

"Ayu," Allura said, holding out his bayard.

He reached out and took it, and—

 _/ A beautiful longbow surged to life in his hands. The string was made of brilliant blue quintessence, and when he pulled back on it, an arrow made of the same simply materialized on it. He ran his hands down the bow, then jerked his fingers back with a hiss. One of them was bleeding. He examined the bow more carefully, and found that the upper and lower curves on either side of the grip had blades facing forwards. He drew back the string, aiming across the training deck with a smirk._

 _Can't aim, eh, Alfor?_

 _Let's see how well you fight with an arrow in your podex./_

Lance's eyes widened at the sleek, powerful sniper rifle that formed in his hands. "Oh, wow," he murmured, and Allura echoed him.

"I thought for sure it would take its old form," Coran said, thoroughly interested.

"Maybe it depends on—" Lance stopped. He _shifted_ back to his true form, and sure enough, his bow formed in his hands.

"Wow!" Pidge said, eyes wide.

Keith whistled, and Shiro just grinned.

"That is so cool!" Hunk said with a huge grin.

Allura shook her head and laughed. "You _would_ have a bayard as complicated as yourself."

He grinned at her. "Hey, it works. That's all I'm asking for."

She rolled her eyes. "Your armor should be mended by now."

"Um, not to sound ungrateful or anything," Pidge said, "but that armor was like, two feet taller than me."

"It'll adjust itself to you," Lance told him.

"Oh, okay."

Ten doboshes later, there were five Paladins of Voltron, ready to set out and free the Lost Lion from the Galra Empire.

"You look wonderful!" Allura clapped her hands. "Now, all we need is a plan."

* * *

 _This is a terrible plan!_ Lance panicked, even as his flight path stayed steady.

 _ **Peace, pilot,**_ Blue rumbled in return.

Lance glared at his console as Sendak's ship grew larger and larger in his viewport.

 _We're pretending to give up two of you. The Paladins are all going to die, Sendak is going to capture all of the Lions, and the UNIVERSE IS GOING TO END!_

Blue snorted. _**I doubt that, Paladin. You are surrounded by three other Paladins. And inexperienced though they may be, they are good and strong and true.**_

He sighed. _I know. But I miss my family._

Green eyes sparkling with mischief flashed through his mind, and pain tore into his heart.

Blue let out a soft sound of sorrow as well, and Green answered from the other side of the moon. Lance felt a gentle tug on his mind as Green nudged him, but he couldn't bring himself to respond just yet. _Later, okay?_ He told her. _I promise._

She accepted his offering, and went back to her own mission.

* * *

Somehow, the mission went off without a hitch.

Well, if he didn't count Keith being blasted out an airlock, that is. (He didn't)

They made it back to the Castle in one piece, all of them piling out of their Lions with huge grins and excited chatter.

All conversations stopped, though, when Red pushed himself to his feet and strode towards them.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, they can move on their own?!" Hunk gasped.

Allura's eyes were wide. "Yes, but they usually choose not to!"

Keith's eyebrows went up. "Red came flying to save me. I thought that was normal?"

"Huh." Shiro tilted his head. "What do you know."

But Lance couldn't speak. There was a lump in his throat, and he knew Red was coming straight for him.

 _ **Red, what are you doing?**_ Blue rumbled at her brother, and when he didn't answer, she rose to her paws as well.

Allura gasped, and Lance started backing up.

Red paused at Blue's clearly threatening stance, then lashed his tail and kept going.

 _ **What business have you with the Blue Paladin?**_ Green snarled, standing as well.

When Red didn't even bother to answer, the Guardian of the Forest leapt in between Lance and Red and _roared._ _ **You leave him be!**_ She crouched low, tail lashing in warning.

"Whoa!" Pidge squeaked, windmilling his arms and almost falling over.

"What's happening?" Shiro demanded, and Keith gripped his arm, looking three parts confused and one part angry.

Red stopped, then lowered his head and made a soft sound. Neither of the girls were letting Lance in at the moment, so he had no idea what Red had said to them.

Yellow stood and rumbled gently, _**Peace, my sisters. Peace, Paladin. No harm shall come to Atreyu.**_ He carefully nudged Blue out of the way, then curled his tail around Green's forepaw and tugged. She reluctantly stepped aside, but she swung her head around first and oh-so-carefully nudged Lance with her nose.

 _ **It's later**_ _,_ she told him, and he choked out a watery laugh, throwing his arms around what he could reach of her.

"I missed you too, you great big tree root," he said.

She purred, then knocked him over. _**I am not a tree root!**_

He laughed again. "Right, right. Whatever you say."

Red stepped forward again, and Lance quickly pulled himself to his feet, laughter dying. But Red stopped in front of him, and slowly lowered his head, opening his mouth. Lance's eyes widened, and he heard an outburst from the others in the room, but he wasn't paying attention to them.

"What…."

 _ **Message**_ _,_ Red told him. _**For you.**_

Lance swallowed. _For just me, or…?_

 _ **For you**_ _,_ Red said **,** _ **but if you wish the other Paladins to hear, they may enter as well.**_

He nodded unsteadily. "Um, Allura?" he called. "Red's saying that he's got a message."

Allura all but sprinted over to him. "From who?" she asked breathlessly, as the others scrambled to catch up with her.

Lance looked up at the mighty Lion. _Well?_

Red's eyes dimmed. _**From the one you mistakenly believe you betrayed.**_ Lance's heart skipped a beat. No. No, he couldn't listen to this, he couldn't face the man he'd as good as _murdered—_

 _ **No!**_ Red roared, tail lashing. His eyes blazed. _**You did no such thing! You saved my sisters, and my brother you honored. You had a duty, you promised my Paladin that you would save them, and you did. You kept your word, Blue Pilot, and you kept it well.**_ He lowered his head again, and nudged Lance's shoulder. _**I do not blame you for the death of my Paladin. There is only one to blame, and it will never be you. You did all that you could and more.**_ He let out a pleased sounding purr. _**Did you know that Zarkon now has a scar all the way down the side of his face from where you struck him with your bow?**_

Lance just gaped at him for a moment, and then tears flooded his eyes. He leaned forward, thunking his head against Red's nose. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm still so, so sorry."

Red let out a soft keen. _**You have no need of my forgiveness, but it is yours anyway.**_ He nudged him a bit harder. _**Now are you going to straighten yourself and stand like a warrior, or sit there and weep like a cub, you pathetic son of a Yaverian vlitnick?**_

Blue growled at the insult, but Lance and Green snickered. "Fine, fine," he said. He turned back to the others. "Come on, guys. Red, if you're done insulting my lineage?"

Red yowled. _**If you think**_ **that** _ **was an insult, you just wait till I really get started! You heljip vlackart of a nimpat trelani!**_

Lance snorted and followed Keith up into the cockpit.

"Okay, boy," Keith said, running a gentle hand over the console. "What do you need us to see?"

The view port flickered to life, and when Alfor's face appeared, Lance all but stopped breathing.

Alfor looked up and smiled.

 _"Ayu…"_

* * *

 **Oh, look at that. I've got a lot of homework to do, and I've got work, and...Oh, wow! 16 pages? I'm sure that's enough to keep them happy for a few days...I think I'll just end it here...**

 **XD**


	5. Searched the World and All Its Isles

**Heyyyy! I'm not dead! I just had a lot of schoolwork in the last few weeks, and didn't really have time to write. Anyway!**

 **So, this is the last piece of Ep. 1 (finally!), and it definitely got a lot more emotional then I was expecting. Ahem. So, I hope you enjoy, and I'm so sorry about the wait!**

 **WARNINGS: The usual: past character death, lots of angst and emotions. Short lil' battle scene, but just a bunch of explosions, basically.**

 **SPOILERS: Season 1, Episode 1**

 **Here we go!**

* * *

 _Searched the World and All Its Isles_

* * *

… _The viewport flickered to life, and when Alfor's face appeared, Lance all but stopped breathing. Alfor looked up and smiled._

" _ **Ayu…"**_

* * *

" _If you're seeing this, it means that you've recovered the Red Lion from Zarkon."_ Alfor's face was pallid, drawn with grief, but set with determination. _"I just watched you escape through a wormhole with both Blue and Green. Yellow is already hidden, and Black is locked in the Castle. I placed Allura and Coran into cryo-pods and launched the Castle, and they made it. The Castle made it, Ayu. Altea may be gone, but the spirit of our people lives on in the three of you."_

The screen jolted, and Alfor winced as alarms started blaring in the background. _"I—I am running out of time. Ayu, I—"_ He lurched forward, catching himself on the arm of his chair as Red shuddered again. _"I am so sorry, brother. I tried. I never meant to abandon you. Believe me or not, but I swear to you, brother, that I tried."_

Lance didn't realize he was shaking until Allura wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He numbly embraced her back, eyes still pinned on his King.

" _Ayu,"_ The screen was flickering. _"I am proud of you, Ayu. I am so proud of you. Be safe, little brother. Live long, and lead a life of joy and laughter. You brought such joy to our lives. And to think, I called you a Platter Paladin."_

Lance shook with laughter, tears streaming down his face.

Alfor gave a gentle laugh. There was a purple overshadowing over the entire screen, and Lance dimly acknowledged that Alfor had been caught in a tractor beam. _"Remember your vow, Atreyu,"_ he said solemnly, but with that sparkle in his eye. _"Hold to your words, and follow the stars. They will always guide you home."_

Lance pulled himself straight, releasing Allura. He raised an arm and clasped it over his chest, bowing to his King, even knowing he could no longer see him.

"I swear," he said hoarsely. "I swear, Brother."

Alfor nodded firmly, like he could hear him, and then the screen went dark.

Lance closed his eyes and clung to Allura. Her silent tears soaked his shoulder, and his own streamed down his face, but he held his head high.

He was Atreyu Talyn of Altea, the Blue Paladin of Voltron.

He knew his mission.

And he would see it done.

* * *

"Wow," Pidge said, finally breaking the silence. "That was…something else."

Lance snorted and wiped his eyes. "That is so like him," he grumbled. "'Hey, it's Alfor! Missed you on the phone, but I'll leave a message that will eventually find its way to you ten thousand years later. Call me back when you get it!' Beep!"

Hunk rolled his eyes and squished Lance in a hug. Allura hadn't let go yet, and a startled sound escaped her as she was dragged along.

Lance closed his eyes, savoring the support for just a moment before he cleared his throat and gently freed both himself and Allura.

"You good?" Hunk asked.

Lance gave him a tiny smile and a nod. "I'm good, buddy. Now," he rubbed his hands together. "Unless my math is wrong, we still have one Lion to get."

Shiro gulped as they all turned to him. "I—" he looked back and forth between Lance and Allura, but they only raised their eyebrows at him in unison. He sighed. "I'll just lead the way, then."

Lance grinned cheekily. "That's the idea, boss man."

Keith shook his head as Hunk, Pidge, and Coran snickered.

"Some things never change," Allura sighed.

The group filed out of Red's cockpit, coming to a stop in front of Black's doors. The Lions stepped up in formation, and each Paladin stood in front of their Lion.

Allura sucked in a deep breath and exchanged half excited, half terrified looks with Lance. "I'll go on up to the control room and monitor your progress," she said, and all but ran from the room.

Lance caught Coran's eye and jerked his head after the Princess, and the older Altean nodded, hurrying after her.

There was silence for a long moment.

Suddenly, Red's eyes lit up. Green's blazed to life, followed by Blue and Yellow. The doors to Black's hangar glowed in response, and Lance could feel his hands trembling.

The doors slid up, and bit by bit, the Black Lion was revealed.

Lance stared up at her, hearing the shocked sounds of the other Paladins in the background. She was already on her feet, and her eyes blazed in response to the others. She drew herself up to her full height and _roared._

The other four Lions rose to their feet and answered the call of their leader. Lance stepped forward, activating his bayard and bowing to her with an ancient ease that whispered of ages long past.

 _Welcome back._

Her eyes flashed. _**It is good to see you again, Blue Paladin. It has been many deca-phoebes.**_

Lance closed his eyes. _Indeed it has._

Black lashed her tail, a low snarl ripping through his mind. _**The traitor will pay for what he did to us.**_

Lance clenched his jaw. _That he will._

Black gave him a single nod, then turned her attention to her new Paladin.

Lance leaned back against Blue, arms crossed, as Allura and Coran came hurrying back into the room.

"All five together again," Allura said, clasping her hands and beaming at him. "I never thought I'd live to see the quintant."

"Me either," Lance said softly. Allura rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her. Coran put his hand on Lance's other shoulder, and they stood together beneath Blue as the other Paladins got to know their Lions.

That was when the proximity alarm went off.

Allura sprinted to the nearest console. "Sendak's cruiser is entering the atmosphere!" she shouted, gaining all of their attention. She whipped around, locking eyes with Lance. "We need Voltron _now!_ "

Lance took a deep breath and nodded. He pulled his helmet on and moved to stand at Allura's right as she spoke to the other Paladins.

"You are the Paladins of Voltron. Trust and believe in each other and yourselves. You can do this. I know you can."

They nodded, and she turned back to Lance, clasping his arm in a warrior's hold. "Make them pay," she said, soft and deadly and full of pain. "Make them pay for what they have done."

He smiled grimly, eyes glinting darkly. "You have my word, my lady," he murmured. He bowed to her, then turned and leapt into Blue's open mouth.

The other Paladins hurried to do the same.

"Blue and Ayu, ready for duty," Lance snapped into the comms, purely out of habit. "The right leg of Voltron is primed to fly."

"Red and Keith, ready to go," Keith said, following Lance's example.

"Hunk and Yellow would rather be going the other way, but we're here," Hunk said nervously.

"Green and Pidge present," said their smallest Paladin. "Can we go beat the tar out of some Galra now?"

Lance rolled his eyes.

"Black and Shiro, ready to get this done," Shiro said sternly. "Princess, are we a go for launch?"

" _Paladins of Voltron_ ," Allura said, and Lance closed his eyes as the familiar words washed over him. " _You are clear to fly. Good luck."_

He gave a shout of laughter. "Who needs luck?"

Coran was grinning, Lance could tell. " _We don't!"_

" _Everyone needs luck_ ," Allura said, trying and failing to sound stern.

"Not us!" Lance yelled back. He threw his controls forward, and Blue blasted off the ground, right behind Shiro and Black.

"Let's get this done, team," Shiro said.

"Yeah!" Pidge whooped. "Let's kick some Galra butt!"

Lance grinned. "I'm with you a hundred percent, little buddy!"

"Alright team," Shiro said. "Listen up. The only way this is going to happen is if we work together. We need to—"

"Brace for impact!" Lance yelled.

"Right!" Shiro frowned. "Wait, what?"

"They've fired the ion cannon!"

The bright purple beam slammed into the Castle's particle barrier, making the entire spit of land tremble.

"Oh, come on, man! I just broke that!" Hunk said once the beam had passed.

" _I can give you cover with the Castle defenses for a while,"_ Allura said over the comms, _"but if Voltron isn't formed very soon, we won't stand a chance. The weapons systems have been offline for so long, many of them are not functioning. Voltron is our only shot at getting out of this alive."_

"Well, this sounds familiar," Lance muttered.

The ion cannon fired another devastating blast, and when the smoke cleared, the particle barrier was fritzing.

"Guys, the barrier won't hold against another hit like that!" Lance warned.

"Alright, okay, okay," Shiro said. "This looks bad, but I believe in us. We can do this. Are you with me?!"

"We're with you, Shiro!" Pidge said.

Hunk gulped. "Yes."

"Yes, sir!" Keith barked.

"Until the end of the line," Lance promised.

"Then let's do this!"

The Lions started running, leaping out of the particle barrier.

"Um, how?" Keith asked.

"Good question," Pidge said.

"I don't see a "combine into giant robot" button anywhere on my dashboard," Hunk half-yelled.

"Lance, how do we form Voltron?" Shiro asked.

"It's different for everyone!" he answered.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Pidge yelled.

"Yeah, not really helping!" Keith said.

"Well there's not exactly a manual for this thing, okay?" Lance snapped.

"Okay, let me rephrase," Shiro broke in. "How did _your_ team form Voltron?"

Lance hesitated. "There wasn't really a set of steps that we followed," he said. "We just…Okay, so there's a bond with your Lion in your mind, right? Well, the Voltron bond is just like that, only it's with the other Paladins."

The comms were silent for a minute as the others digested that. A new wave of fighters shot by overhead, laser beams flying left and right.

"This is insane!" Pidge screeched. "Can't they cease fire for, like, one minute so we can figure this out?!"

"I think that's the point, Pidgeon," Lance said. "They don't _want_ us to figure it out."

Allura's image flickered to life on their screens. _"Hurry, Paladins!"_ she said. _"Our energy reserves are running dangerously low!"_

Lance gritted his teeth. "Hang on, Allura!"

She gave him a terse nod, then grabbed at her controls as the entire Castle shook. Her image blinked out, and Lance swore in Altean. "We have to do something!"

"Let's take off and fly in formation!" Shiro shouted. "Maybe we'll just…combine!"

They took off on his mark, and flew up together. Lance and Blue sank easily into the Voltron bond, minds reaching out for the others. They could dimly sense the other Lions, but where the Paladins should have been was nothing but a horrible emptiness.

 _Where are you?_ They cried, searching for minds and voices long lost.

Lance was jolted back to himself when Hunk shouted, "We're caught in a tractor beam!"

The Blue Paladin looked up and sure enough, there was a purple beam dragging all five Lions steadily upward towards Sendak's cruiser.

"No, no, no!" Pidge shouted.

The ion cannon blasted past them, and Lance sucked in a sharp breath as the particle barrier around the Castle exploded into a thousand shards of crystal light.

"This can't end here!" Pidge all but snarled. "It can't!"

"It's been an honor flying with you boys," Keith said solemnly, and Lance almost screamed again.

"Don't give up!" he shouted, furious. "Don't you _dare_ give up! I did _not_ lose my family, my sister, _and my planet_ just for you to give up now!"

The ion cannon was powering up again.

Lance's eyes widened.

" _Ayu,"_ Allura's voice, tired and full of grief and sorrow. _"I'm sorry, Ayu."_

"NO!" he screamed. "No, no, no. Not again, not again, I ca _n't do this again, Allura please no!"_

"We're not giving up!" Shiro shouted. "Not yet! We can't! Remember what the Princess said: we have to believe in ourselves and each other! We are the universe's only hope! We can't fail! We won't fail! Now let's form Voltron!"

The others shouted their assent, and Lance closed his eyes. He reached deep into his own mind, connecting easily with Blue.

 _Green first,_ he told her. They easily reached the smaller Lion.

 _ **Sister. It is time.**_

She growled, opening her link with Pidge so he could reach him.

 _Pidge. Follow me._

 _Lance…?_

 _Trust me._

 _O…okay._

Lance felt their four minds blend into one. _Red next._

And so they went. His cool azure quintessence served as a beacon, a guide, and the others followed him with no fear.

And then that dark, empty place was suddenly full of color: bright, brilliant Gold. Warm, blazing Red. Vibrant, vivid Green. Vast, protective Black, shot through with slowly wheeling galaxies. And himself: glittering, loyal Blue.

And just like that, Voltron exploded into existence once again.

* * *

Their first action was to force the ion cannon off course. Its devastating beam struck the planet far away from the Castle, and they could all feel his overwhelming relief—closely followed by an icy, freezing rage that threatened to kill anything that got in his way.

Blistering waves of rage joined his, stemming from Keith and Red. A calming glow seeped into them, courtesy of Hunk and Yellow, and a carefully thought through plan filtered in from Pidge and Green. Shiro and Black rumbled through all the chaos and gave orders with an ease and confidence that sent _pain_ and memory ripping through Ayu.

Wait.

Wait.

That wasn't his name anymore.

Was it?

 _/ "Form Voltron!_

 _Colored streaks tore into the sky and the mighty warrior dropped down with a thunderous crash. /_

"Lance!" Someone was calling him. But that wasn't his name.

Was it?

 _/ "Ayu! Get us away from the cannon!"/_

"Lance!"

 _/"Ayu, help!"/_

"Lance, what's happening?!"

 _/"Ayu, watch out!"/_

"Lance! Come on, buddy!"

Hunk. That was Hunk.

Ayu ripped his mind out of the past, anchoring himself to the present with a gasp. "I'm here," he rasped. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—"

"It's not your fault," Shiro said, forceful and protective and—

 _/ "Calm down, Ayu, it's alright."_

 _Face pressed against black armor, strong arms holding him up._

" _You did good, soldier. You did good. You can rest now."_

" _I'm so sorry…"_

" _Don't apologize. It's not your fault. It's over now, soldier. You can let go." /_

Ayu— _Lance,_ his name was _Lance_ now—forced his memories back into the box they belonged in, hidden at the very back of his mind. A bolt of agony clawed at him as he twisted himself back to the present, and a short cry of pain wrenched out of his mouth.

"Lance?!" Hunk was afraid now.

"Dude, what was all that?!" Pidge shouted.

"It's not important," he gasped out through gritted teeth.

"I beg to differ, but we can talk about it later," Shiro cut in, all confidence and control. "First, let's take this cruiser down. We're starting with that cannon."

Keith and Pidge followed Shiro's intentions exactly, ripping the vile thing completely off the ship and slinging it _miles_ away. Keith slammed through the outer armor of the ship and unleashed a blast that went through the entire ship, causing a series of massive explosions.

Pidge broke through next, and aimed his beam straight for the bridge. The ship started to shudder with explosions from top to bottom, and Shiro gave a wordless order.

Voltron shot up in the sky, hovering above the dying cruiser for one moment before it fell like an avenging angel. All five Paladins screamed out battle cries as they tore a hole through the central power grid of the ship. Voltron hurtled towards the ground, and Lance and Hunk activated their thrusters, working together to land with grace and ease.

Behind them, the Galra battleship exploded.

The new Paladins let out whoops and shouts of excitement and pride, but the Lost Paladin of Altea only stared up at the fire streaking across the sky and wished it did something to fill the awful hole in his chest—the one that used to be filled with family and home and brothers and sisters-in-arms.

 _Make them pay,_ Allura's words rang in his head. _Make them pay for what they have done._

But as the broken pieces of debris crashed down and marred the beautiful landscape of Arus, his thirst for blood and vengeance seeped away. A hollow pain took its place.

Because Atreyu Talyn was no stranger to war, and Lance McClain was no fool.

No matter how many Galra he fought, no matter how many fleets he decimated, no matter how many lives ended at his hands, it wouldn't do anything.

It wouldn't bring back Alfor, reckless and brave and so, so good. It wouldn't bring back Yseult, strong and loving and patient. It wouldn't bring back Ari, fierce and bright and loyal.

They were still dead.

Altea was still gone.

Zarkon was still lost.

The only thing that had changed was the once-peaceful world of Arus. It was now marked with fire and death.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the tears that burned tracks down his face.

* * *

Allura jumped down the Castle steps. "You did it!" she shouted gleefully, throwing herself into Lance's arms. He caught her with a tired laugh.

"Yeah, we did," he said with a warm smile.

"We actually did it," Keith said, pulling off his helmet and shaking his head in disbelief.

" _How_ did we do it?" Shiro asked, throwing an arm over Keith's shoulders.

"I was just, like, screaming the whole time," Hunk said, pulling off his helmet. "Maybe that did it?"

Pidge put his glasses back on and stared at the ground, not saying anything.

"Hey." Shiro put a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to find your family, Pidge. I promise."

Lance tilted his head, confused. "Family—" he sucked in a sharp breath. "The other members of the Kerberos mission," he said.

Pidge looked up at him suddenly. "Why didn't you do anything?" he asked softly. "You were on Earth, and it only took us like, a minute to get out to Kerberos in the Blue Lion, and that was when you were going slow to take it easy on us. You could've been there in seconds. Why didn't you save them?"

Pain speared Lance's heart. "I didn't know they were missing until you did," he answered. "Earth is considered such a primitive planet compared to many other worlds that there has never been any real interest in it. I thought—"he swallowed hard. "I thought you would be safe if you stayed in your own system." He closed his eyes. "I was wrong. And by the time I realized what had happened, it was too late. The Galra cruiser was long gone."

"And you—"Pidge sniffed. "You couldn't break Blue out because then the Galra would have come back for her and destroyed everything."

"Yeah." Lance felt tears sting his eyes as the tiny Paladin swiped at his face. He knelt and held out his arms, and Pidge rocketed into them, hiding his face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Lance whispered. "But I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to help you find them."

Pidge nodded, then forced himself upright. He offered Lance a watery smile, and Lance ruffled his hair.

"Thanks," Pidge said, and Lance grinned.

"No problem, little buddy."

Allura smiled at them, then grew serious. "This battle is won," she said, "but the war is just beginning. Zarkon will stop at nothing to capture the Lions."

"Yep!" Coran said, far too cheerfully. "It's a good thing you're all experienced Paladins now, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again and again and again and—"

"Okay, yes, thank you, Coran," Lance cut him off. "The point is, we can do it." He looked at the others. "No doubts, we can definitely do it. But we've got a lot of work to do." He grinned. "It won't be easy, being the Defenders of the Universe."

Shiro grinned. "Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it."

* * *

They peeled themselves out of their armor and collapsed in the lounge.

"Everything hurts," Pidge moaned.

"Yeah," Keith said, head in his hands. "And my mind feels like it's been scrubbed out with steel wool."

Lance laughed softly. "Linking for the first time can be seriously disorienting."

"Speaking of linking," Hunk sat up and pinned Lance with a look. "What was all that stuff that we saw, right when we first connected?"

Lance winced. "Yeah, that was my fault. Sorry."

Shiro frowned. "We're not blaming you, Lance. We just want to understand. It was hurting you, and we want to help."

Lance gaped at him for a moment, then dropped his head into his hands and let out a slightly hysterical laugh. "You are _so much_ like Zarkon," he said.

Shiro paled, and Keith shot to his feet, face thunderous. "Excuse me?!" he shouted. "Like _Zarkon?!_ What the quiznak is wrong with you?! Shiro is _nothing_ like him!"

"Seriously!" Pidge threw in his two cents worth, glaring at Lance and grabbing Shiro's arm supportively.

"Whoa, not cool, dude," Hunk frowned.

Lance just watched them tiredly before turning to the wall and saying, "Activate the footage in Blue's hangar of the return from the mission on Neialte, the fourth quintent of the Vliethre movement."

The wall lit up with a screen, and the other Paladins made sounds of surprise.

 _On the screen, Atreyu came down the ramp of his Lion, grinning from ear to ear. His singed, bloodstained white hair was shoulder length, and decorated with intricate braids. His armor was looking a little worse for wear, and he was limping badly on his left leg._

 _The doors to the hangar opened, and Atreyu looked up._

" _AYUUUU!" a slender figure in green armor came flying across the floor._

 _He laughed, bright and joyful, dropping his helmet to catch her as she tackled him. "Oomph! Glad to see you, too, Ari."_

"Ari?" Pidge echoed. "She was the Green Paladin, right?"

Lance just nodded, unable to look away from the beautiful and _alive_ image of his sister.

 _She grinned up at him. "That was amazing! You totally saved Alfor's podex."_

" _I was handling it just fine on my own!" came an indignant shout from the door, and the two Alteans turned to see the King of Altea standing there with his arms crossed, looking very put out. His red armor was decorated with scorch marks._

"Whoa," Keith breathed.

" _Of course you did," came a deep, soothing voice from behind him. Yseult stepped out, dropping one hand on his shoulder. "But even you must acknowledge that these ones did most well."_

"What is that?!" Hunk yelled, pushing back against his seat.

"That's Yseult," Lance managed. "His people are known as the Balmerans. He was the Yellow Paladin before you."

"Oh," Hunk said, and eagerly took in his predecessor.

 _Alfor sighed. "Alright, fine. It was a good shot, Ayu." His eyes suddenly sparkled. "I bet I could do better."_

 _Atreyu's eyebrows went up. "Oh, really? You're gonna go there?"_

 _Ari snorted. "Oh, please. I could beat you both blindfolded."_

" _Oh?" Alfor shot a look at Ayu, and they turned to Ari with matching smirks._

 _Her eyes got very wide. "Oh, no."_

" _Oh, yes!" the boys said in unison, and then they lunged at her. She squeaked and fled, and they gave chase with much laughter._

 _Yseult shook his head, but there was a wide smile tugging at his mouth. "Not again," he said._

" _What's not again?" said a new voice, and a powerfully built Galra came through the door, tall enough that he could lean on Yseult's shoulder with ease._

"You had a Galra on your team?!" Keith said sharply, spinning to face Lance.

The Altean didn't respond.

" _Zarkon, save me!" Ari shrieked, sprinting over to him and climbing up his armor to perch on his shoulder. "They're after me!"_

Dead silence filled the lounge.

 _He gave a great booming laugh. "I'll protect you!" he cried. Atreyu and Alfor grinned at each other, then split up and started circling Zarkon._

" _Can't follow us both," the King taunted._

 _He gave a wicked smile. "I don't need to," he said. In one lightning quick move, he grabbed Alfor by the arm and slung him into Ayu._

 _Ayu gave a sharp yelp as the older Altean's weight landed on his leg. Ari immediately leapt towards Yseult, who caught her with ease, and Zarkon was beside the other two in a flash, followed by the Yellow Paladin. The Balmeran pulled Alfor to his feet, and Zarkon knelt beside Ayu._

" _You're injured," he said, a worried frown twisting his mouth._

" _Ow," Ayu hissed as his leader poked a sensitive spot. "It's just a little cut, Kon. No need to worry."_

" _Ayu, I can see the bone in your leg," was the blunt response. "We're getting you to a healing pod, now."_

 _The Galra carefully lifted him in his arms and started out of the room. His walk was a gentle rocking motion to keep from jarring his passenger, and Ayu was yawning before he could stop himself. Yseult chuckled._

" _I think this one has worn himself out," he said._

 _Ari laughed softly, sliding to the floor and dancing over to drop a kiss on her brother's forehead. "You did well, Brother," she murmured. "I'm proud of you."_

 _He shot her a little grin, and Alfor stepped up to ruffle his silver braids. "I guess you're not a complete failure," he sighed dramatically, and Ayu snorted at him._

" _Rude," Ayu murmured sleepily, eyes beginning to close without his permission._

 _Alfor rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Platter Paladin." He reached out, and ever-so-gently tilted Ayu's head over to rest on Zarkon's shoulder. He automatically curled closer to the Black Paladin, and Zarkon chuckled._

" _Rest, little brother," he said warmly. "I've got you. I'll still be here when you wake up."_

With a gesture, Lance dismissed the screen on the wall and turned to face the others.

There was dead silence for a long moment.

"Zarkon…was the Black Paladin?" Shiro finally got out, looking slightly horrified.

Lance closed his eyes, tipping his head back against the couch. "Yeah. He was."

"You were really close," Hunk said. He scratched his head. "And he obviously wasn't a bad guy back then. I mean heck, he was letting that Ari girl use him like a jungle gym."

Lance laughed then, but it was small and sad. "Yeah, you had to be careful where you sat down around here, or you'd end up with a lapful of Ari. She was ridiculously affectionate."

"Who was she?" Pidge asked, scooting closer. "I mean, obviously she was the Green Paladin. But who was she to you? You seemed really close."

Lance took a deep breath. Time to come clean. "Her name was Ari," he said, very, very carefully. "Arianwen Talyn."

Hunk's eyes widened, and Keith sucked in a sharp breath.

"But—"Shiro stared at him. "Wasn't that your last name? Your Altean one, I mean."

"Yeah." Lance offered a tiny smile. "Ari was my sister. My twin, actually."

"But—But Allura said you _buried_ her," Keith said, horrified.

"I did," he said. "Zarkon killed her." He tried to keep his voice from breaking, but he didn't think he succeeded.

"Zarkon was my father's most trusted ally, and closest friend," Allura said from the doorway, walking in and sitting next to Lance. "As such, he knew all of Altea's defenses. Namely, the other Paladins, who were still loyal to the throne of Altea. So when Zarkon decided to destroy our planet…"

"He knew exactly how to do it," Shiro finished. "Kill the Paladins." He ran his human hand through his hair. "But I don't understand. The Zarkon we just saw was a great man, and an excellent leader. How—what happened? Something drastic must have happened to change him that much."

Lance nodded. "There was an accident," he said. "Zarkon was exposed to a massive amount of tainted quintessence, and it warped him into something unrecognizable. He descended on Altea with an army as numerous as the stars, it felt like. Yseult tried to snap him out of it, to bring back the Zarkon that we knew and loved, but…" Lance's hands tightened into fists. "He killed him," he rasped out. "I was _right there_. If I had just moved one tick faster—"

Allura dragged him into her arms, cutting off the rest of his sentence. Tears glittered in her eyes. "Atreyu returned from Zarkon's ship mortally wounded," she took over. "He was inconsolable, and equally incoherent. He couldn't even tell us what had happened to him. Yseult was not with him, and we feared the worst, but refused to believe it. We put him in a healing pod and fought to keep the Castle defenses operational."

"After a while," Coran said, sitting on Lance's other side and rubbing his back. "Arianwen came in. She was in pretty awful shape as well. Shortly after her arrival to the bridge, we received a transmission from Zarkon, where he proceeded to—" Coran faltered, then swallowed hard and continued. "—to boast about how he had taken advantage of Yseult's love and trust, using it to get him close enough to kill him."

Allura had tears running down her face now. "My father put me to sleep almost as soon as the transmission ended. The last thing I saw was fire blazing outside the Castle."

"After you were asleep and safe in a cryo-pod," Coran said, "Alfor and Arianwen made a plan. Alfor would set the Castle to wormhole somewhere peaceful and safe while Arianwen kept the Galra busy until the coordinates were set." He shook his head. "But there were too many. She and Green were being overwhelmed. The Castle was running out of energy, so Alfor shut off all non-vital functions. For some reason, the Castle decided to shut off the pods as well, so Ayu was released much too soon."

Lance wiped his eyes and sat up. "Hey, it didn't kill me, so it couldn't have been that bad."

Coran raised an eyebrow. "Would you like me to list off the injuries you still had?"

"Nope, I'm good," Lance swallowed nervously.

Coran harrumphed, and Allura quickly cut in before they could devolve into yet another argument about Lance's self-care habits—or rather, the distinct lack thereof.

"Anyway," she said, shooting the boys a sharp look.

Lance cleared his throat and picked up the tale again. "Blue and I flew out to help Ari," he said. "And for a long while, we were fine. Then…Then the druids hit Ari and Green with some kind of spell. I had never seen or heard of anything like it. It looked like black and purple lightning. Whatever it was, it instantly killed almost all of Green's systems. They crashed." His eyes went distant. "We reached them as soon as we could." He clenched his fists. "Ari was gone by the time I got there."

Keith started pacing, and Shiro's eyes filled with compassion. Hunk looked like he was about to cry, and there were already tears running down Pidge's cheeks. Allura gripped Lance's hands tightly, and he swallowed hard.

"The cockpit was…totally destroyed. There was glass and twisted, half-melted bits of metal everywhere. And there was so much blood…" He closed his eyes as though he could block out the images rising in his mind.

A weight landed on his lap, and a vice-like grip tightened around his neck. He looked down, surprised, only to find Pidge clinging to him like a tiny octopus.

"I'm so sorry," the smallest Paladin choked. "I know that you miss her, and I know that I'm not anywhere near good enough to replace her, but—"

"Stop it," he murmured, hugging him back. "I meant what I said this morning. She would have _loved_ you. Of all of us, you remind me of her the most. And Green wouldn't have chosen you if you weren't a worthy Paladin. She's very cranky like that."

Pidge managed a little laugh. "Thanks, Lance. I'm—I'm really proud to be the Green Paladin. Not that I wasn't before! I'm just…" he straightened up. "I am honored to be able to continue your sister's legacy." His honey colored eyes burned with determination. "I'll make her proud. You, too. I promise."

Lance smiled. "Of that, I have no doubt," he said. Then, because he could, he scrubbed his hand through Pidge's hair, making it stand up every which way.

Pidge squawked. "Stop that!" He bolted away to the other end of the sofa, glaring and smoothing his hair back down.

Lance shot him an exaggerated wink and finger guns.

Pidge growled.

Lance swallowed hard and scooted closer to Allura. She wrapped an arm around him with a laugh.

Hunk came over and sat down on his other side. "Can I ask you something?" he said softly.

Lance smiled at him. "You just did. But yes."

Hunk gently swatted his arm. "Jerk. It's just—when we went to get Yellow, there were carvings all over the cave, just like in Blue's. Did you…"

Lance sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. The least I could do was tell his story after he died for me." His hands tightened into fists. "I was already down, but I had my bow at full draw and aimed right at Zarkon's head. I was faster than him and we all knew it. I could have killed him right there. But his bayard was already at my neck. We would've killed each other. I was about to loose the arrow. I would have, too, if Yseult hadn't stepped in. He couldn't believe that our Zarkon was truly gone. He begged Zarkon to stop, to let me go, and he actually did, and we—" he bowed his head. "We thought he was coming back to us, so I—I lowered my bow."

Allura clasped his hands in hers, forcing his fists to open and lacing his fingers through hers.

Lance took a deep breath. "He moved so fast I could barely see him. There was just this blur of motion, and then Yseult was hitting the ground with empty eyes."

Allura took a wobbly breath. "What happened then?"

Lance shrugged. "At that point, I was beyond caring if I lived or died so I just threw myself at him. I got him, too." A grim smile pulled at his mouth. "All the way down the side of his face. According to Red, he's still got the scar. Then he stabbed me and threw me off the ship, and you know it from there."

Allura pulled him into her arms and held him tight. "I am so glad you made it," she whispered.

"Me, too," Pidge said, hugging one of Lance's arms.

Hunk sniffed, and wrapped Lance in a huge bear hug as soon as Allura let go. "Me three, buddy. I don't know what I would've done without you."

Lance held onto Hunk tightly for a few moments, then released him with a hearty slap on the back. "I'm glad I made it, too. You guys are pretty awesome."

Shiro clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short," he said quietly. "And as for what you said before—that I was like Zarkon—thank you. Knowing what kind of a man he used to be, that's actually a pretty huge compliment."

Lance smiled. "All of the Paladins share certain personality traits," he said. "I can see _them_ in all of you. We've got a long fight ahead of us, but I think we've got a chance." He grinned at them. "And there's no one else in the universe that I'd rather be fighting alongside."

And from their warm smiles and steely eyes, he knew they were thinking the same thing.

* * *

Late that night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Atreyu Talyn walked through the Castle, as silent as the ghosts of his past. He curled up in a window seat in one of the observation decks and rested his head against the glass, staring up at the countless stars.

He let his mind wander back, back, back to the days when the Castle rang with laughter and voices and people and family and _life_. He could hear them now—children racing up and down the hallways, the quiet chatter of the serving staff, the constant light that was just everywhere, warm and bright. Alfor's infuriated shouts as yet another bucket of brightly colored dye was emptied over his head, Ari's slightly maniacal cackle as she ran for her life, Yseult's deep chuckle, and Zarkon's booming laugh as the twins hid behind them to escape Alfor's wrath.

Then he opened his eyes and all of it disappeared. It was only him, alone, staring at his reflection in the dark glass. Silver hair and emerald facial markings and pointed ears. Empty, empty, broken eyes.

The Last Paladin of Altea.

"You had better watch your back, Kon," he whispered, a solitary tear streaking down his face as he pressed his palm to the glass. "Because there's no one else left to do it."

And if he stayed there all night, weeping for a lost world and a lost brother gone beyond all redemption as hollow memories of life and love and joy echoed around the silent halls…

Well. That wouldn't really be any of your business, now, would it?

* * *

 **I am so sorry.**

 **It was NOT supposed to end in such an angsty way. It was supposed to end happy and fluffy and stuff. Arianwen wasn't supposed to die! But noooo. She dies, and then it's just all pain and angst and Langst and pain. Jeez. I need new plot bunnies.  
**

 **Anyway!**

 **There is chapter five. Hope you liked it!**

 **Drop me a review, let me know what you think, what you would change. I love hearing from you guys. Really makes my day.**

 **See you later!**


	6. I've Been Lost For Far Too Long

**Woo! Okay, this took forever to get out, and I know this should have been up days ago, and...I'm sorry!**

 **ANYWAY.**

 **catsrlife, I think you were the one that I promised I would have an update by Thursday. So here you go! This chapter is dedicated to catsrlife, who reviewed not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES on Chapter five. So thank you so very very much, people like you are the reason I get out of bed every day.**

 **SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO CHAPTER SIIIIIXXXXX!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I made up a lot of weird words for various Altean foods, but I literally just mashed a bunch of keys and then added vowels, so yeah. That's how I come up with my Altean words. I DON'T OWN A SINGLE SMOL. Except Ari. And Yseult. And Lance's entire family. But other than that!**

 **WARNINGS: There is a physical injury in here somewhere. One of the characters is not able to breathe for a short period of time, kind of like an asthma attack. But the problem is fixed very quickly.**

 **SPOILERS: Season 1, Ep 2 "Some Assembly Required."**

* * *

 _I've Been Lost For Far Too Long_

* * *

 _...And if he stayed there all night, weeping for a lost world and a lost brother gone beyond all hope of redemption as hollow memories of life and love and joy echoed around the silent halls..._

 _Well. That wouldn't really be any of your business, now, would it..._

* * *

 ** _Fire._**

 ** _It was all around._**

 ** _People were screaming._**

 ** _Children were crying._**

 ** _Altea was burning._**

 **" _Ayu!" screamed his mother._**

 **" _Ayu, help me!" His baby sister._**

 **" _Atreyu!" His father._**

 ** _The fires roared, and Zarkon started laughing._**

 ** _Alarms rang over the planet, summons for the Paladins, but no matter how he ran, he could not reach Blue._**

 ** _The smoke was so thick he could not breathe. Black and toxic, it filled the air._**

 ** _The alarms grew louder and louder and louder, and suddenly, Zarkon's scarred face and glowing eyes were before him._**

 **" _I will finish what I started," he snarled. "You will all_ _burn_ _!"_**

 _ **The mighty black bayard swung through the air and sliced into his chest—**_

Lance shot from his bed, a scream dying in his throat, tearing desperately at his bonds— _sheets, they were just the bedsheets—_ throwing himself from the bed and crashing to the floor, sucking in great lungfuls of air. He raked his shaking hands through his hair and pressed his forehead to the cool floor.

 _I'm not there, I'm safe._

 _I'm in the Castle. I'm fine._

 _ **Fire.**_

 _I'm fine._

 _ **You will all burn.**_

Pain spiked through his hand, and he opened his eyes— _when did I close them?—_ to see that he'd gotten to his feet at some point and punched the wall hard enough to make his knuckles bleed. He sighed and made his way to the bathroom, rinsing his injured hand and lifting his head to stare at himself in the mirror.

Brown hair and round ears.

He _shifted_ , sighing in relief as his true face once again looked back at him. Sometimes he felt as ghostly as this Castle, like he was slowly fading away. The pain in his hand was reassuring. He was still here. He wasn't done fighting yet.

Lance was startled by the Castle alarms going off. He sprinted out of the bathroom, yanking his pajamas off and grabbing his armor as Allura started shouting.

"Paladins! Zarkon is attacking! We need Voltron _now!"_

Lance bolted out the door.

"Go! Go! Go!"

He burst into the control room less than a minute later, still missing one glove, but bayard already out and activated. He slammed to a stop, shield already summoned and firmly gripped in his left hand, only to see Coran tell Allura, "You've got to _sell_ it, Princess."

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and Coran held out his hand. "Watch and learn," he said smugly. Then he started screaming.

"OH NO! THE GALRA ARE ALREADY HERE! THEY'VE GOT ALLURA! ALLURA'S DEAD! THEY'VE CUT HER HEAD OFF!"

Lance sagged back against the wall, clapping his hand over his mouth to smother his laughter as Allura jumped nearly three feet in the air when Coran started wailing.

"WAIT! SHE'S TRYING TO SPEAK TO ME! WHAT IS IT, ALLURA'S HEAD? WHAT ARE YOUR LAST WORDS?"

Lance rested his head in his hands and cracked up as Allura snatched the vocal-projector away from the advisor and soundly whopped him over the head with it.

"It's over," she said shortly. She spun on one heel to see the Paladins.

Hunk was rubbing his eyes and yawning, Keith looked like a tiger that had just been let out of its cage, Shiro was actually in armor, and Pidge's glasses were on upside down.

Lance snorted and stepped forwards, turning them rightside up. "Better?"

"Yeah," Pidge yawned. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lance turned to face the seething Allura.

"I'm…guessing this isn't an actual attack," Shiro said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"It's a good thing it wasn't," Allura barked. "It took you…Coran?"

"Seventy-five degrees," Coran snapped, glaring at them.

They exchanged baffled looks.

"Wait," Lance blinked. "What?"

"Oop, sorry, no," Coran grinned. "This is a meat thermometer!"

Lance sighed as Allura's eyebrow twitched.

"The point is," she practically growled. "It was _too_ long." She stalked forwards, scowling at them. "You must be ready at all times to leap into battle. Keith, Hunk, Pidge, where are your bayards? Only Shiro and Lance—" she narrowed her eyes at the Blue Paladin, noting his missing glove. "I take it back. Only Shiro is in full uniform!" She turned the full force of her disappointment on Lance. "I expected you to know better, Ayu."

Fire flashed before his eyes again, and he barely avoided flinching.

"My apologies, Princess," he said formally. "It will not happen again."

She frowned. "See that it does not. We do not have time to make mistakes like these. Over the last ten thousand years, the Castle picked up distress signals from the following systems."

She turned and punched in a few commands on a console. The star map lit up around them, and Lance smiled until two thirds of it turned red. His eyes widened.

Allura sighed. "From this information, we must assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entirety of the known universe. Earth is here." She spun the star map until the Milky Way was visible.

Lance shifted in place. The Galra were a lot closer than he'd anticipated. "An attack on the Milky Way is inevitable," he said, seeing what Allura was leading up to. "Going by this, the Galra will be at Earth's doorstep in less than five years."

"Oh, no," Hunk whispered.

Keith and Shiro clenched their fists, and Pidge shrank closer to Hunk.

Shiro swallowed hard. "The Garrison isn't ready for this," he whispered to Lance.

The Altean rolled his eyes. "The only thing they're ever ready for is lunch."

Shiro snorted out loud, then quickly muffled it behind a cough.

Lance settled a hand on his shoulder. "But don't worry about it. They don't need to be ready because they've got us."

"Right," Allura nodded. "So you've no time to waste! You must learn to form Voltron on command. To your Lions with you! Training starts today!"

Lance nodded. "Aye, Milady," he said with a rakish grin, sweeping a low bow.

Allura snorted and smacked his shoulder. "Get out of here," she said, but a smile tugged at her mouth.

"But I wanted to talk with the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship!" Pidge protested.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Coran said, stepping up. "Negative, Number Five! I have you ranked by height, okay?" He held his arms up, measuring Pidge from head to foot. "Mm-hm…Got it. So, the prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow, okay?"

"That's right," Allura nodded. "They were severely under-nourished. Now get to your Lions! You can speak with the prisoners tomorrow, Pidge."

The smallest Paladin sighed, but nodded.

"Come on, Pidgeon," Lance said, dropping a hand on the boy's shoulder and leading him out the door. "Those pods work fast. Some of them might actually be out by tonight."

"Okay," Pidge gave him a little smile. "Thanks, Lance."

He ruffled his hair. "Sure thing, Pidgeon."

He grumbled and smacked his arm, but looked much happier overall as he scuttled off down the hall to get his armor.

Lance jogged back to his own room to grab his other glove before making his way down to Blue.

 _ **Good morning, Ayu.**_

 _Good morning, beautiful._ He smiled at her pleased purr. _First day of training with the new kids. This should be interesting._

She snorted. _**To say the least.**_

 _Yeah, yeah. Alright, let's go. Don't want to be the last ones out._

They flew out to the front of the Castle, setting down lightly next to Black, who was already there.

Green and Red got there at about the same time, but Hunk wasn't showing.

"Um, should somebody go back in and get him?" Lance said after a while.

Yellow finally made an appearance, weaving around the towers to land beside Pidge.

"Sorry!" Hunk said. "Sorry. But seriously, who planned this layout? The Lions are like, as far away from the bridge as you can possibly get."

Lance snorted.

"Alright, we're all here," Shiro said. "Let's start off by flying in formation until we're totally in sync. On my mark. One. Two. Three!"

They took off, staying close together. And they flew.

And flew.

And flew.

And not a single thing happened.

"Okay, this isn't working," Shiro said. "Let's set down for a bit and see if we can't figure something else out."

"Why don't we try to build Voltron?" Keith suggested suddenly.

"Do what?" Shiro asked.

"I mean, literally build Voltron," the Red Paladin said. "Let's stack the Lions on top of each other."

Lance snorted. "What, like a cheerleader pyramid?"

"You got any better ideas?" Keith snapped.

"Okay, okay, it's worth a shot," Shiro interjected. "Let's try it."

Lance set his jaw, but obediently settled his Lion on the ground.

It took them awhile—especially when Hunk forgot that he was a _leg_ , not the _head_ —but eventually, everybody was where they were supposed to be.

"Alright, focus on your bonds," Shiro said. "Reach out to your Lions, and your fellow Paladins. We all have to be connected to form Voltron."

Lance and Blue sank easily into the Voltron bond, along with the other four Lions.

 _ **Ugh, this is ridiculous!**_ Red complained. _**It's really not that hard!**_

 _They've only done this once, Red,_ Lance said. _Cut them some slack._

 _ **But all they have to do is follow us,**_ Green pointed out. _**My Paladin is not listening to me!**_

 _ **Nor is mine,**_ Yellow murmured. _**I do not think he can hear me. At least, not as clearly as he should be able to.**_

Lance frowned. _That's gonna be a problem. Black, are you having the same issues?_

 _ **Yes,**_ their leader answered, her concern seeping across the bond. _**Atreyu is the only one who can hear me clearly, and he is not even my Paladin.**_

 _That's because I already know what I'm doing,_ Lance reminded them. _They still don't really know how this works._

Red let out a wordless yowl of frustration.

"Is everyone focusing and bonding?" Shiro asked, voice tight.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yes, Shiro." He banged his head against the back of the seat. "Why was this so much easier before?"

"I think I might have an answer to that, Ayu,"Allura said cheerfully. Her image came up on their consoles. "Last time, you couldn't form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle. Your survival instincts forced you to work together."

"Yeah, I see it," Keith said.

"Perfect!"Allura said. She grinned, and Lance felt fear settle in his chest.

"Oh, no," he muttered.

Blue laughed.

"I need to run a diagnostic on the Castle's weapons and defense systems! Brace for impact!"

"Oh, quiznak!" Lance yelled, throwing Blue into evasive maneuvers as the particle barrier shimmered into existence.

"Lance?" Hunk said, confused.

" _ **MOVE!"**_ Lance wailed.

"Buddy?" Hunk said, still confused. "What are you running fro— _what the cheese?!"_

The particle barrier started blasting them with energy beams, and the rest of the team quickly joined him in his frantic run.

"Allura!" Keith shrieked. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Testing the Castle's systems," she said. "And inspiring you! I believe in you, Paladins! Let fear be your guide! FORM VOLTRON!"

Lance groaned.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

They staggered into the lounge and collapsed.

"What…the… _quiznak_ …" Keith groaned.

Lance dropped his arm over his eyes. "That's it," he said. "She's lost her mind. She's trying to kill us all."

Pidge just made some sort of warbling sound of despair.

The doors slid open, and Coran and Allura's voices spilled in.

"Are we at full power on Condenser Five yet?"

"No, Princess. Still stuck on 85%."

Allura huffed. "Better than nothing, but we need to—oh!" she noticed the Paladins. "You did it! You formed Voltron!"

"No," Keith said. "We didn't. After a while, the barrier came down, so we just…flew back in."

" **What**?" Allura growled.

"Oh, right," Coran said nervously. "Sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the barrier to check the fire suppressors."

She groaned. "Fine. Coran, take them to the training deck. I'll take over repairs."

"Training deck?" Shiro repeated, interested.

"Oh yes," Coran sighed. "It's where the Paladins of old did their training."

Lance slid off the couch to the floor with a groan.

"See?" Coran said cheerfully. "Ayu remembers it!"

"Not the Pit of Despair!" Lance wailed.

The Paladins exchanged looks of horror.

* * *

Ten doboshes later, the Paladins were in a tight circle, back to back.

The drones started spinning around them slowly.

"Individually, you're all brilliant warriors," Coran said from the observation deck. "But you still have to learn to work together, as a team. This exercise is about guarding your fellow Paladins, even at the expense of yourself."

"Stupendous," Keith muttered rebelliously.

 _/ "This is just spectacular," Alfor grumbled, summoning his shield._

 _Ayu snickered. "What's the matter, Kingy-Poo? Afraid you won't be able to keep up?"_

" _With the Platter Paladin?" Alfor scoffed. "Please. I'll leave you in the dust."_

" _You little—"_

" _Alright, that's enough!" Zarkon said shortly, summoning his own shield. "Ayu, Alfor—get ready. The exercise is starting. Remember the Paladin Code: you must value the lives of your teammates above your own."/_

"—ance? Lance!"

He blinked and shook his head rapidly, Zarkon blurring out until it was Shiro standing before him with a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked, concerned.

Lance gave him a slightly strained smile. "Yeah," he said. "Just a little bit…" he waved his hand around. "Memories. I'm fine."

Shiro didn't look reassured.

Lance's smile suddenly felt a lot more real. "Shiro, I'm okay. I'd tell you if I wasn't, I promise."

"Okay," Shiro nodded.

They tightened their formation as the drones sped up.

"It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect your teammates,"Coran said.

Pidge, Shiro, Keith, and Lance summoned their shields.

"Whoa!" Hunk's eyes were wide as he stared at his. "Do you guys have these, too?!"

Lance snickered, but sobered at Shiro's serious, "Get ready."

The first drone fired at Hunk, and with a squawk, he hit the deck. The laser flew over his head and slammed into Pidge's back, and he fell through the floor with a scream.

Another laser hit Hunk, and he went down as well.

Keith, Shiro, and Lance went back-to-back.

"What just happened to them?!" Keith cried, barely blocking another drone's attack.

"When you're 'killed'," Lance grunted, blocking two shots at once, stumbling into Keith before righting himself, "the training deck deposits you in the room below, so your 'body' isn't a hurdle to the others."

"Oh," Keith nodded. "Got it."

"Time to increase intensity!"Coran said gleefully.

"Coran!" Lance yelled, but the advisor just laughed.

The lasers started coming at them faster and faster and faster, and Shiro and Keith were struggling to keep up.

And Lance…

Lance was having a little trouble separating memory from reality.

/ _Surrounded by enemies…/_

It's just training…

 _/Laser fire burning the ground all around him…/_

It's just the training deck, it's fine…

 _/Teammates falling left and right…_ /

They're just in the lounge on the lower level…right?

He didn't notice as the drones suddenly went low, and then Keith went through the floor with a strangled gasp.

Disoriented without the support at his back, Lance stumbled, and was shot down himself.

 _/Darkness._

 _Darkness and pain. He coughed, and tasted copper. There was a warm weight in his lap—Ari, his mind whispered—and the stench of blood was everywhere._

 _Blue was crying, and Green was screaming._

 _It was so…so…dark…/_

Lance crashed into a hard surface, and light flooded into his eyes. He shot to his feet, panting, and ripped off his helmet, raking his fingers through his white hair.

"Whoa…" Pidge muttered.

"Hey, man, you alright?" Keith approached him cautiously.

"Yeah," he rasped. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…" he groaned in frustration. "Just a flashback, I guess. I'm sorry."

"Hey, no need to apologize," Hunk said, gently clasping his shoulder. "It's okay. You can't help it."

Lance leaned into the hand, unsurprised when Hunk pulled him into a hug.

"The last time I was in a fight like that on foot," he said softly, "was the day Altea fell. I just…wasn't really ready for it, I guess."

Keith awkwardly clapped him on the back. "No harm done."

Lance offered a wan smile. "Thanks, Mullet."

Keith glared at him. "It's not a mullet!"

Pidge snickered as Lance smirked. "Who do you think you're fooling? It's totally a mullet!"

Hunk laughed out loud, then suddenly let go of Lance and moved away.

Lance didn't have time to ask why before Shiro landed right on top of him and Keith.

"Thanks for the soft landing, guys," he said, chuckling over the sound of their groans.

A comm unit in the room came on with a high-pitched screech that had Lance wincing.

"Alright guys, up to the observation deck!" Coran said. "We're not finished yet! Ayu, you head to the floor. It's Maze time!"

"Oh, goodie," he muttered, ignoring the others' curious looks.

They filed back up, and Lance took his place at the start of the Maze. He couldn't see it at all, but he could see Coran gesturing and explaining through the window, so he assumed it was already up.

He pulled his helmet on and tapped his foot while they decided who would guide him through.

"Okay, take two steps forwards, then turn to the right," Keith's voice came through.

 _/ "Two steps, then take a left," Alfor said, sounding bored out of his mind._

 _Ayu rolled his eyes and turned left, immediately electrocuting himself._

" _You did that on purpose!" he shouted._

" _You're not listening," Alfor shot back._

" _You said take a left!"_

" _But before that, I said take two steps forward, you idiot!"/_

A tiny smile stole over his face at the memory of his old friend. "Okay," he said to himself.

 _One, two, right._

"What now?"

Step by step, Keith guided him through with only one mistake.

Lance was still rubbing his singed fingers when he was called up to take his turn on the mic.

"Should make you walk into one for that," he grumbled teasingly as he sat down.

He could practically hear Keith's wince. "Please don't. That looked painful."

Lance had to laugh. "Chill, Mullet, I promise that I won't walk you into an electrified, invisible wall."

"It's not a mullet!"

* * *

After the Maze, they headed back to the Lions.

"Now, one of the key elements of forming Voltron is your individual bond with your Lion," Coran said. "You can't bond with four other people and Lions if you can't even reach your own."

"That makes sense," Shiro said.

"Alright everyone, put your Lions into a nose dive!"

The Paladins shot towards the ground.

"Coran," Lance said, "if you're doing what I think you're doing, you do realize this is an expert level drill, right?"

"Yes!" Coran said cheerfully. "This _is_ an expert level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for several years, but we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go!"

Lance laughed at the others' groans of terror.

"Activating training helmets!"

With the forewarning, Lance didn't panic as his world went dark. In mere moments, he had linked with Blue, and was seeing through her eyes.

The others were, perhaps understandably, a little less excited.

"Coran! I can't see!" Keith shouted.

Shiro gasped, and Black wavered for a moment before resuming her steady speed.

"Ah!" Pidge sounded a little freaked out. "Everything's dark!"

"AAAAHHHHH!"

...And there was Hunk.

Lance shook his head with a grin. "Chill out, guys," he said. "It's okay—your Lions have got you. The point of this exercise is to learn how to see with your Lion's eyes. It's pretty incredible."

 _ **It has been far too long since last we did this, my Paladin,**_ Blue said warmly.

His grin softened. _You said it, beautiful._

The ground was getting a lot closer now, and Coran got back on the mic.

"The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground," he said. "Feel what your Lion feels!"

"Terrified!" Hunk yelled. "Mine feels _terrified!"_ He pulled up and out of his dive.

Lance sighed as Yellow lost his temper for the first time in a _very_ long time.

 _ **No I do not! This child will not listen! I cannot help him if he will not listen!**_

 _I'll talk to him later, Yellow._

 _ **Thank you, Ayu. Now let's see if I can get this cub back to the Castle without him crashing me into a cliff.**_

The other Lions made sounds of sympathy as Yellow, still grumbling, flew off.

"Lance, are you still going?" Pidge asked, voice very small.

"I'm already connected to Blue, Pidge," he said. "Been here, done this, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Ground must be getting pretty close," Keith said. "Not getting scared, are you Pidge?"

"Scared?! I'm not scared! You're scared!"

"I am not!"

Lance started to warn them about the approaching ground, but Green cut him off with a sigh.

 _ **Let them learn from their mistakes. My cub will have to clean all the sand out of my joints before I let her back in.**_

Lance started to laugh when his mind caught on a particular word. _Her? Did you just say HER?!_

 _ **Oops…**_

Lance knew his mouth was hanging open. _Seriously?! I mean, don't worry, it doesn't bother me and I won't say anything until she decides to tell us all, but wow. Did_ _not_ _see that coming._

Red snorted. _**As observant as you have always been, I see.**_

 _Uh-huh._ Lance smirked. _And I assume you have_ _observed_ _the very rapidly approaching ground?_

Red didn't have time to answer before he and Green smashed into the sand, disappearing up to their hind legs.

Red groaned. _Shut up, Ayu._

He snickered as Keith and Pidge's groans filtered through his helmet.

Shiro had remained almost completely silent this whole time, and Lance could feel Black's excitement.

 _ **He's getting it,**_ Blue said, very satisfied. _**He will not crash.**_

And sure enough, as Blue used the last slope of the cliff to increase her speed just for fun, Shiro activated Black's jets and never touched the ground.

They shot forwards, weaving around pillars and through arches with the grace and skill of a pilot with six times their experience.

 _ **Yes!**_ Ayu/Blue let out a great roar, and Shiro/Black responded in kind.

 _ **Sister! Brother! Family!**_ Ayu/Blue danced around them, their excitement and joy infectious. Shiro/Black soared into the air beside them, and they looped and spun and twisted around each other in an ancient dance filled with the love of _family_ that Ayu/Blue had never thought they'd feel again.

* * *

When they landed, Lance reluctantly pulled free of Blue and all but sprinted to the training deck, where Coran had told them to reconvene.

He skidded into the room, eyes stinging, and didn't have time to say a single word before Shiro pulled him into a hug. His fingers clenched in Shiro's armor, and taller man just held him for a long moment before releasing him to put his hands on his shoulders.

"Brother?" Shiro raised an eyebrow, but there was a little smile on his face that gave away how he really felt about it.

Lance blushed and shrugged. "The Lions are siblings," he explained. "The Paladins kind of got dragged into that, and it just…"

"Clicked," Shiro grinned and ruffled his hair, laughing at his offended yelp. "Yeah. I get it."

Lance shot him a nervous look from beneath his white bangs. "So…you don't mind?"

Shiro's smile softened. "Not even a little bit. For all that you're over ten thousand years old, you seriously just remind me of a kid sometimes."

Lance shrugged. "I was eighteen when Altea fell," he said softly. "Blue's quintessence kept me alive, but it froze me at that age. I'm older mentally, but physically and emotionally, I'm pretty much stuck."

Shiro's eyes filled with compassion, and he pulled Lance back into his arms. "Well, I hate to tell you this, but I'm in my twenties. So you are officially the little brother."

Lance let out a long mock-groan. "Not again!"

But he wrapped his arms around Shiro's waist and held on tight.

Shiro didn't let him go until the door slid open to let the others in.

Keith was staring at both of them with wide eyes. "That was some of the most incredible piloting I have ever seen," he said, sounding like a little kid on Christmas.

"Dude, you weren't really trying in the Garrison simulator, were you?" Hunk shook his head.

Pidge snorted. "Please, Hunk. He wasn't trying at all."

Lance shrugged with a sheepish grin. "Well, if we're being honest, I truthfully wasn't very good with the simulator. It doesn't move or respond like a real ship, and obviously, you can't connect with it like you can with the Lions. So I am legitimately bad at simulators."

Pidge raised an eyebrow. "But you _could_ fly them better than you did."

Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I could've. But not a whole lot." He turned to Keith. "You 100% kicked my tail with that."

Keith shook his head. "Then I think we're even, because you 100% kicked _my_ tail today."

Lance grinned. "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it. Also, Pidge," he spun to face the tiny boy—well, shoot, girl. That was gonna be hard to not accidentally spill. "Green says she's not letting you back in until you clean all the sand out of her joints."

Pidge gaped at him. "What?!" she yelled. "How is that fair?!"

Lance shrugged. "She's a little ticked off that you don't listen to her. And you _did_ crash her headfirst into the ground."

Pidge growled. "Okay, that's a good point. But still!"

"Alright, alright!" Coran broke in. "Shiro, Ayu, very well done. The rest of you will get the hang of it eventually. Now, everyone sit down in a circle and put these on."

He handed out the mind-meld helmets, and Lance sucked in a sharp breath. The other Paladins headed to the middle of the floor and sat down cross-legged, quietly talking.

"Coran…" Lance said in a warning tone of voice. He glanced at the others, then dropped into Altean. " _I do not have good control over my mind right now. I don't know what they'll see."_

Coran's eyes were sympathetic, but resolute. _"I think this will help. Blue will assist as well. You'll be fine, Ayu."_

He nodded hesitantly and walked over to the others, taking his place.

Coran jogged up to the observation deck. "Now!" he said. "The most important skill you will have to learn as Paladins is how to join your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron! Everything else must be put aside."

Lance closed his eyes and focused. An image blinked to life in front of him, and he opened his eyes to see—

Oh.

It was his family.

He wasn't prepared for the torrent of emotions that came with it.

His Mother and Father. His twin, Arianwen. Their older brother, Javen. The youngest of them all, perched on Lance's shoulders and pulling his hair: Lyren. That was Seri in the back, smacking Valen's head for stealing her candy. His aunt and uncle, Daliel and Marlon. His grandmother, Alistra.

He stared at them blankly.

Oh, he missed them so much.

Mother trying to scold them for pulling pranks on the neighbors, but really laughing too hard to speak. Father marching back and forth behind her and waving his hands, mocking her as she lectured. Grandmother, telling ancient tales of faraway worlds by candlelight. Uncle Marlon teaching him to surf even the wildest seas. Aunt Daliel, teaching him how to shift his form, never losing her patience. Lyren and Valen sneaking into his bed whenever there was a thunderstorm. Javen throwing him into the ocean every time they went to the beach. Trading vegetables with Seri, because he didn't like flothons, which were her favorites, and she hated quils, which he loved.

And Ari.

Flying with Ari. Pulling pranks with Ari. Singing with Ari. Swimming in the sea with Ari.

Just…Ari.

Sister.

Gone.

Coran's voice broke through his haze of memory. "Now everyone focus on forming your Lion."

 _Blue,_ he sobbed. _I want them back._

 _ **I know, Little One,**_ she whispered, and he could feel her grief and love. _**I know.**_

He closed his eyes, unable to watch his family disappear as he forced the memory to fade into a hologram of Blue.

"Very good, everyone." Coran said approvingly. "Now bring your Lions together and form Voltron in the center."

Blue's hologram started drifting towards the middle, and a quick peek showed that Black, Red, and Yellow were well on their way.

"Come on, work together!" Coran said. "Only one to go!"

Pidge's brow was furrowed, and the image flickering before her was of—oh dear Ancients.

That wasn't Pidge and some girl.

That was _her brother and herself_ , right before Matt left on the Kerberos mission _._

Lance had to close his eyes again.

"Pidge," Keith snapped. "Quit thinking about your girlfriend."

"I'm not!" Pidge barked back. "It's Hunk! He's in my head!"

Hunk opened his eyes. "Aren't we supposed to be open? You can root around in my head hole."

"Everybody has to be able to root around in everybody's head hole!" Coran said, sounding more irritated than he'd been all day. "CLEAR YOUR MINDS!"

They could see him emphatically gesticulating through the window.

Lance snorted and discreetly wiped his eyes.

That man.

"That's it," Coran said as they tried again. "Very good. All five. Now come together as Voltron!"

They almost had it when Green reverted back to Pidge's memory.

"Pidge!" Hunk said.

"I'm done with this!" Pidge slammed to her feet and flung the helmet down. "I don't like people being in my head, and I don't like not being able to talk to those rescued prisoners because they might know where my family is, and I—"

Lance sighed, pulling off his own helmet. "Pidge—"

"And I don't need a lecture from _you_!" she turned on him, honey-colored eyes blazing. "Yes, we know, you're a spectacular Paladin and you're an expert at everything, and I just—"

"Sit. Down." He didn't need to raise his voice to make her listen. The ice in it did that just fine.

Pidge's mouth snapped shut, and she quickly sat back down.

Lance sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I'm not a perfect Paladin. I haven't done any of this in years and years and years. I am _not_ an expert at everything, and I wasn't going to lecture you. I was just gonna say that you're really tired, and we've all been working really hard today, so why don't we take a quick break? Maybe get some water, and just slow down for a few minutes?"

Pidge winced. "Sorry for snapping," she said quietly.

Lance gave her a tired smile and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it." He glanced up at the observation window. "How about some drink pouches, Coran?"

There was no answer.

"Coran?"

The door to the training deck opened, and Coran bustled in with his arms full of drink pouches. He deposited them in the middle and beamed at Lance. "Excellent idea, number three!"

Lance laughed softly. "Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man."

The advisor turned as red as Keith's armor. "Yes, well—" he threw a pouch at Lance. "Drink!"

* * *

Lance was leaning on Hunk's shoulder, eyes closed as he sipped his drink pouch. He felt exhausted, but it had nothing to do with the physical training. The mental exercises were always far more draining, and it didn't help that there were so many emotional bombs in his mind.

He felt thoroughly wrung out and ready to sleep for ten deca-phoebes.

That was when he heard the brisk, efficient footfalls of his Princess marching down the hall.

"For the love of the Ancients," he groaned as the door slid open.

"Why are you all lying around?" Allura demanded, hands on hips. "You're supposed to be training!"

"Allura, we just finished the mind meld exercise, plus a round against the drones, and the blind dive in our Lions," Lance said. "We're taking a five dobosh water break."

Allura glared. "Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!"

Shiro went stiff as a board, and Lance shot up from the ground, jaw clenched in anger. He strode forward, grabbing Allura's elbow and _escorting_ her out of the room and down the hall a ways.

" _Do you maybe want to not use that word in front of the man who was a Galran prisoner for an entire year?!"_ he hissed in her ear. _"You do remember their arenas, don't you? For all we know, Shiro could have been one of those Gladiators."_

She paled. _"I didn't even think—"_

" _Well, you need to_ _start_ _thinking, Allura,"_ he bit out. _"Because these Paladins? They are_ _human_ _. They have been training all day, performing tasks that the Paladins of old found difficult. Their bodies are weaker. Their reflexes are slower. And moreover, they are_ _children_ _. They are not tested and tried warriors. I had more training than they do when I joined the Paladins, and I was a kitchen boy. I realize that you are desperate to get off this planet and avenge your father, but if you break your soldiers before we've even been here a full movement, you will have already lost the war. They need to rest. Five doboshes, Allura. The universe isn't going to fall in five doboshes."_

She pursed her lips. _"Fine. Five doboshes. But no more."_

She strode back down the hall, and he followed.

* * *

Five doboshes later on the dot, Allura called an end to the break.

"If you want to succeed against the Soldier," Coran said over the intercom as they got into formation, "all five of you will have to work together."

The Gladiator—renamed the Soldier, for Shiro's sake—hit the floor and had Hunk down and out in less than ten ticks.

"Oh, brother," Shiro groaned.

 _/ "Who's idea was this?!" Zarkon roared as he desperately dodged the Gladiator's battle stave._

" _I don't know!" Ari shrieked, hitting the floor and cowering under her shield as a second robot tried to skewer her._

 _Ayu screamed as a third bot grabbed his ankle and flung him into Alfor, sending them to the ground in a tangled, groaning heap._

 _Yseult laughed, denting in his opponent's head with one blow from his massive fist. "I am greatly enjoying this!" /_

Pidge went flying about five ticks after Hunk, and Lance swore as the thing turned its attention to him.

"I still hate you," he informed it as it ran at him. He quickly rolled to the side, coming up and letting loose with his bayard.

It blocked every shot and he grit his teeth. It brought its staff down hard, and he flowed to the side like water parting around a sinking stone. He planted his foot on the end of the staff, and when the Soldier heaved up on it, Lance used the boost to flip over its head and get out of range.

So the thing made its own long-range weapon by nailing Keith in the stomach and slinging him into Lance.

"Ugh!"

"Oof!"

Shiro activated his arm, and the Soldier charged him.

But something was wrong—Shiro's eyes went wide unfocused, and he didn't move as the Soldier raised its staff.

Lance and Keith shot forward, Keith catching the blow on his sword, and Lance kicking out the Soldier's feet.

It worked brilliantly—until it didn't.

The Soldier did start to fall, but it caught itself on one hand and launched back up, landing a solid kick to Lance's chest—right where Zarkon had stabbed him, ten thousand years ago. His bayard tumbled from his suddenly numb hands as he was knocked nearly halfway across the room.

The Soldier turned its attention back to Keith and slammed him straight back into Shiro, sending them both to the ground.

Allura was not happy. "That combat simulator was set a level fit for an Altean child!" she fumed.

Lance shoved himself to his knees and coughed harshly, one arm wound around his chest. The scars were burning—they'd never really healed right.

"You're not even close to being a team!" the Princess cried. "Let alone being ready to face Zarkon."

Lance closed his eyes and tried to breathe. His heart faltered, skipped a beat, then resumed. His lungs were refusing to inflate all the way.

"What's wrong with you, Ayu?!" Allura said impatiently. "Get up!"

"Leave him alone!" Pidge snapped. "Your stupid robot probably broke his ribs!"

Shiro knelt next to him. "Hey, buddy, you okay?"

Lance nodded and forced another breath out. It hitched badly, and he couldn't get another one in.

Not good.

He doubled over, trying to inhale, but he couldn't.

"Atreyu?!" Now Allura sounded afraid.

His chest was starting to burn.

"Move!" Why was Coran shouting?

There were black dots swarming over his vision.

Somebody leaned up against his back, and strong hands started to rub his chest as a familiar voice filled his ears.

"Breathe with me, Ayu, come on."

He could feel the body behind him breathing in and out.

In…

And out…

He started to follow their breathing pattern.

In…

And out…

In…

And out…

Finally, his heartbeat steadied, and his lungs relaxed.

"I'm alright," he said softly, too tired to say it louder. "Thanks, Coran."

"What was that?" Allura was pale.

"Are-are you okay?" Pidge's hands were trembling.

"I'm good, Pidgeon," he said with a little smile.

"That is not _good_ ," Keith spat, hands fisted. "That's really actually the opposite of _good._ "

Lance sighed, straightening up with a wince. "It's just an old wound," he said.

"From what?" Allura demanded, voice sharp. "What wound could you have possibly attained that would still affect you so strongly nearly ten thousand deca-phoebes later?!"

"Zarkon stabbing a bayard infused with tainted quintessence all the way through my chest," he said flatly.

Allura blanched.

"You all saw the state my armor was in," Lance said. He shrugged. "He stabbed me right before Blue, Green and I escaped Altea. We didn't have healing pods or anything like that, so I used some of Blue's quintessence and basically just froze my entire torso until it healed. But because of the tainted quintessence, it didn't heal correctly. It's usually not a problem, but the Soldier managed to kick me right in the middle of it. Now that I'm aware of the weakness, I'll be able to guard for it. It won't happen again."

"Maybe we should call it quits for the day—" Shiro started, but cut himself off when Lance put a hand on his arm and gave him a little smile.

"I promise, I'm alright. It's like…oh, what was that thing called…There was a sickness on Earth that was pretty common. It was a lung problem, and people had to carry around inhalers for it…it started with an a, I think?"

"Asthma?" Hunk piped up.

Lance snapped his fingers. "Yeah! It's kinda like that. It flares up when it's aggravated, but if you know what to look for, you can prevent it."

"If you're sure," Allura still didn't look convinced.

Lance looked her in the eye. _"I'm fine, 'Lura. I promise."_

She nodded. "Very well, then. Paladins, you have ten doboshes to wash up and meet me in the dining hall, where we will discuss today's training."

* * *

"I never thought I'd be so excited to see food goo," Lance muttered to Hunk as they sat down at the table.

"Me, either," he said with a grin.

"Ah! Hello, Paladins!" Coran said brightly. "I've whipped up a feast of focusing food! After you've got this in your systems, you'll be forming Voltron every quintent! And twice on the astral conflux!"

Lance snickered as Shiro thanked the advisor.

They were about to tear into their food when Coran revealed some sort of controller that he'd had hidden behind his back and punched a button.

Lance groaned out loud as magnetic cuffs formed on each Paladin's wrists, binding them to each other.

"I saw some truly brilliant individual performances," Coran said seriously, "but when it comes to true teamwork, you're still having trouble. Matter of fact, there was only one instance where I saw anything that even vaguely resembled true teamwork: when Ayu and Shiro were flying the blind dive exercise. Other than that…Well, you need some help."

Coran rubbed his hands together. "So! Welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day!

Hunk scowled at him. "Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing."

At literally any other time, Lance would have laughed his tail off. As for right now…

"Coran," he half-wailed, "I just want to eat and go to bed. Why are you like this?"

The advisor laughed. "This one is my favorite!" he said, far, far too cheerfully. "You get to feed each other! Like a pack of yalmors!"

* * *

Lance decided that if they ever actually got out of these stupid cuffs, he was going to launch the Castle himself and _jettison Coran out of the airlock._

So far, Lance's hand had gone in Hunk's mouth, up his nose, and he's smacked Keith up the side of the head. Accidentally. In return, Hunk had knocked his plate halfway across the table, and Keith had dropped his own hand right in Lance's food goo.

"What was that for?!"

"It's your fault!"

"Why are we even doing this?!"

"Ugh…"

Allura straight out growled. "Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?!"

Shiro glared at her. "All of us have been working really hard today. Why can't you just give us a break?"

"Yeah!" Keith shot to his feet. "We're not your prisoners, and we're not for you to toy with like…like…"

"Like Court Jesters," Lance put in with his own sour look at Allura.

"Yes!" Keith exclaimed. "Thank you, Lance!"

Coran straightened. "You do not yell at the Princess!"

"Oh, the Princess of what?" Pidge scoffed. "We're the only ones out here, and she's no Princess of ours!"

Lance tilted his head. "You know, technically, she _is_ my—" he cut himself off as a glob of food goo sailed through the air and splattered all over Pidge's face.

Allura had risen out of her chair, and was wielding an empty spoon catapult with a very, very, irritated expression on her face.

Coran and Lance exchanged very wide eyed looks.

"Go loose, Pidge!" Keith yelled. He grabbed his plate and flung the whole thing at Allura. Coran snapped it out of the air with his dish towel, and Lance couldn't help the grin that was growing on his face.

Coran saw it. "Now, Ayu," he said nervously, "let's not do anything—"

Too late.

Lance's plate slipped off Coran's face, streaking food good all the way down his front, and in a heartbeat, Coran had retaliated with an entire ladleful of goo, managing to hit all of the Paladins with one blow.

There was silence for a moment, and then Hunk grinned. "Oh, it is on," he said.

And from there, everything went very downhill very, very fast.

Lance couldn't stop laughing.

 _/ "That is it, you little—" Alfor's rant was cut off as a platter of Zarkon's filhalt was dumped over his hair._

 _Ayu had three seconds to triumph before Yseult's Bikarian eel was going down the back of his tunic._

 _Ari was perched on Zarkon's shoulders, screaming and slinging trilegs like her life depended on it, and Coran was standing on the end of the table next to the Altean queen, and the two of them were launching catapult after catapult of food goo all over everyone._

 _The serving staff were safely hidden at various points around the room, and all of them were in stitches. They knew that the Paladins would remain to help them clean up the mess, and they all looked so happy that none could begrudge them these brief moments of childishness./_

When all was said and done, most of the chairs had been knocked over, all of them looked like they'd just crawled out of a food goo swamp, and Keith had somehow managed to get ahold of a ladle.

Allura staggered backwards and collapsed in one of the few chairs that were still upright. The Paladins looked at each other, and exploded into laughter.

"ENOUGH!" Allura shouted, and all of them fell silent.

"Don't you see what you're doing?" She looked up, and her smile could have put the sun out of business. "You're finally working together! As a team!"

Keith grinned. "Hey, she's right."

Lance laughed.

"Hey, you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Hunk asked.

Shiro clanked their wrists together. "Let's go form Voltron!"

"Yeah!" Hunk yelled. "Well, actually, I was thinking desert."

Lance and Pidge cracked up.

"But Voltron works, too!"

* * *

The Lions fit together with ease. The Paladins sank into the Voltron bond like they'd been doing it their whole lives.

There was simple happiness radiating from all five of them, and even Red kept his negativity to a minimum.

Allura and Coran were on the ground, smiling up at them, and Lance was feeling mischievous, so he boosted Blue's sound intake and eavesdropped.

"I told you I could get them to do it," Allura said, very satisfied with herself.

"You were right," Coran admitted easily. "It's like the old proverb says: 'A man can be driven to do anything if a beautiful woman is just really, really mean to him'."

Allura smacked him.

* * *

"I just want you to know," Hunk said later on, when they were all relaxing in one of the lounges, "that I realized something in Voltron. We're a family, man! You guys are my brothers!" He grabbed Lance with one arm and Keith with the other one, and squeezed until Lance felt like his eyeballs were gonna pop out.

"Okay, Buddy," he wheezed, patting the big guy's back. "Oxygen is important."

"Right. Sorry." Hunk let go.

Keith laughed softly. "G-forces mess with your head a little?"

"Yeah, maybe a little," Hunk rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. It's been a rough few days." He teared up and grabbed them again. "I love you guys!"

Keith made a sound like a drowning cat, and Pidge and Shiro were just shaking their heads at all three of them, but they were smiling.

Allura and Coran came in, and the Princess dropped a kiss on Lance's forehead. "Well done, Platter Paladin," she said teasingly, and his eyes widened.

He leapt to his feet. "I shall have you know," he said grandly, "that I am the greatest pilot to ever grace this reality!"

Coran snorted. "Define "grace," Ayu, because I can recall a certain someone who tends to run into walls and doorframes because they were thinking too hard to pay attention to where they were going."

"Wait," Pidge blinked. "Lance can think?"

He widened his eyes even further, and dramatically collapsed on the couch. "Treason! Treason of the highest order!" he wailed as loud as he could, flinging one arm over his face before he peeked up, blue eyes sparkling as his friends shook their heads at his antics.

The Paladins were laughing, the Lions were happy, and Blue was purring in his mind.

Atreyu Talyn smiled.

Not perfect, not by any means, but they were his. A little messed up, a lot broken, but…these guys were his family, now. Old and new, familiar and strange, they were all in this together.

And looking around, he started to believe—really believe—that maybe they could really pull it off.

 _Maybe the universe truly can be free once more._

* * *

 **There you go guys! So so SO sorry it was so late!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Till next time!**

 **ALSO The chapter titles are coming from a song called "Far Across The Land." It's by an artist named Eurielle. She's on YouTube, and you guys REALLY need to go check her out!**


	7. Trying Hard To Carry On

**Hello! How are we all?**

 **I am so excited to get this chapter out of the way, because the next one is THE FALL OF THE CASTLE OF LIONS AND I CAN'T AKSDJNFIAEUHAE!**

 **I'm very excited about it.**

 **ANYWAY**

 **SPOILERS: Season 1, episode three.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

 **WARNINGS: Guys, there aren't any! Isn't that incredible?!**

* * *

 _Trying Hard To Carry On_

* * *

 _...And standing there as Voltron again, he started to believe-really believe-that maybe they could really pull it off._

 _Maybe the universe will be free once more..._

* * *

Lance groaned and rubbed his back as they walked into the dining room. "Ugh, Hunk," he said. "When you kick something, you really have to let me know so I can stabilize us."

Hunk blushed. "Sorry. But hey! At least I kicked it a really long way!"

"Yeah, but you completely ruined our balance," Keith snapped. "We _fell_."

"Alright," Shiro said shortly. "Save your fighting energy for the Galra."

Coran walked through the doors with a huge smile. "Hello, Paladins!" he said cheerfully. "Voltron is looking good!"

Lance smiled at him. "Thanks, Coran."

Shiro looked at all of them proudly. "We're getting there," he said with a grin. "How are the Castle repairs coming along?"

Coran set down his platter. "We've only got one central stabilizer left to repair, and we'll be ready to go! Oh, and that last nebulon booster."

Lance pushed himself to his feet. "I can take the stabilizer," he offered.

"Thank you, Ayu!" The advisor said. "But before you do that, I've prepared all of you a traditional Paladin lunch!"

Lance's eyes widened, and he quickly made to back away. "That's okay, Coran, I really should get to work on that stabilizer. Allura's been wanting to leave Arus for days now, and we really should be moving on and—"

"Nonsense!" Coran whipped the lid off the platter, seeming not to notice the looks of horror he was getting from the other Paladins. "I insist!"

Lance groaned as he saw the lumpy, slimy, green thing with the yellow bulbs on the side. "Coran…"

"This…does not smell good," Hunk said, reeling backwards with his hand over his nose.

"I know!" Coran beamed. "That's how you know it's healthy!"

Lance and Keith sagged into their chairs as Hunk lectured Coran on the advantages of being on a planet where herbs and spices grew aplenty.

Shiro looked around. "Hey, where's Pidge got to?" he asked.

"He's waiting in the infirmary for the rescued prisoners to wake up," Keith answered, rubbing his eyes.

Shiro nodded and rose to his feet, but instantly jerked back when Coran shoved a spoonful of _whatever that thing was_ in his face.

"Open up the hatch!" he said. "Food lion coming in!"

He imitated the sound of an engine, and Lance buried his face in his hands and cracked up at Shiro's deadpan, "No. Just…no."

"You don't know what you're missing!" Coran shouted after him, and Lance snorted.

"No, but I do, and I can tell you right now it ain't much," he muttered to Keith, who snickered.

Lance put his head down on his folded arms and dozed off while they waited for Hunk to finish up his experiments.

He was woken by the sounds of dishes clinking down onto the table, and opened his eyes to see a variety of delicious looking foods and one very satisfied Hunk. He handed Keith and Lance utensils.

"Dig in, you guys," he said.

The Red and Blue Paladins exchanged relieved looks and tore into the food.

The door slid open, and Allura started laughing. "Coran, I told you that the lunch wasn't a good idea."

Coran crossed his arms and looked away. "I don't wanna talk about it."

She shook her head with a grin and dropped a hand on Lance's shoulder. "I've finished with the nebulon booster, but the stabilizer is a bit beyond my skills. Ayu, do you mind?"

He shook his head, polishing off the last of his food and rising to his feet. "Not at all."

They started out of the room when an alarm went off. Keith and Hunk pushed away their bowls and hurried over.

"What's that?" Keith asked.

"Proximity alert," Lance and Allura answered in unison.

She activated the screen, and the outside scanners showed them a small creature scuttling from rock to rock, approaching the Castle.

"What _is_ that?" Hunk asked. "It's adorable!"

"It could be dangerous!" Keith argued, summoning his bayard.

Lance laughed. "Not to worry, Keith. I'm pretty sure that's just a native Arusian. They have always been welcoming and friendly."

Allura smiled. "Well, in that case, let's go out and greet him!" she said excitedly.

* * *

The little Arusian had taken cover in some bushes as soon as the doors opened, and Allura hurried forward with a smile.

"We know you're there," she called from a few feet away. "Please come out. We mean you no harm."

The Arusian leapt out the bushes, brandishing his tiny weapon, and Lance caught even Keith smiling at his fierceness.

"I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors!" he declared. "Our village is over Gazrel Hill, below the Temple of Talyn."

Lance's eyes got very wide. "The temple of _what_?!" he sputtered as Allura burst into laughter, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle it.

Klaizap's eyes narrowed. "A great Lion Warrior from many ages ago!" he declared. "He saved our planet, and we honor him still."

"Temple of Talyn?" Keith repeated, turning to Lance with a cat-ate-the-canary grin. "As in—"

"Not another word, Mullet," Lance hissed, flushing to the tips of his pointed ears.

Hunk coughed to disguise his own laughter, and Coran was shaking his head with a huge grin.

"The Treaty of Arus," the advisor murmured. "I do believe that you made an impression, Ayu."

Lance groaned and buried his face in his hands. Allura snorted again, ignoring his misery.

"I come to seek answers of the Lion Goddess," Klaizap said grandly. "I seek to discover how her followers have angered her, and what we can do to atone for our mistakes."

"Followers?" Coran raised an eyebrow.

"Lion Goddess?" Hunk tilted his head, and Klaizap nodded.

"The one the ancients spoke of," he said, gesturing to a massive carving on the nearby boulders.

"Why do you think you have angered her?" Allura asked, kneeling down to the warrior's height.

"Fire is everywhere," he told her earnestly, and Lance felt his heart break. "The last few suns, destruction has rained down from the heavens, and a great giant has danced in the sky."

"I think he's talking about Voltron," Hunk said in a loud whisper.

"Yeah," Lance rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I got that."

"No, no!" Allura said gently. "You have not angered the Lion Goddess, I promise. My name is Allura, and this is my Castle."

The little Arusian looked like he was about to collapse. "Lion Goddess," he gasped, and bowed to the ground.

"Please, bravest warrior," Allura said. "Will you take us to your village, so that we may meet with your people?"

He nodded, standing to his feet. "Of course! Follow me, Lion Goddess!"

Lance smirked, leaning over and whispering in Allura's ear, _"You know, Lotor always did say that you looked like a goddess…"_

Allura's eyes widened, and she blushed before smirking right back. _"At least I don't have a temple named after me."_

Lance spluttered, turning red again, and Allura laughed.

Lance quickly activated his earrings with a tiny nudge of quintessence. They weren't as big or dangly as Allura's, just a simple blue and silver stud in each ear, but they were so much more convenient than wearing a helmet all the time. "Shiro, Pidge, we've made contact with a local Arusian. There's no danger, but we want to meet with their leader. We're going to their village. What are you guys up to?"

"We're going out to the Galra ship to see if we can't get more information on my family," Pidge said. Her voice was sharp and tense, and Lance frowned.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Fine."

"You sure? You seem a little—"

"I'm. _Fine._ "

"Okay, okay," he rolled his eyes. "Just keep your comms open, alright?"

"Fine. See you in a bit."

Lance shook his head as he turned back to Allura.

Females were so annoying.

* * *

The Arusians were delighted to see them, and there was a lot of celebrating at the arrival of the "Lion Goddess."

"Oh Lion Goddess!" shouted a large Arusian. "I, the King of the Arusians, welcome you to our humble village. I beg that you would forgive us, and allow us to atone for our misdeeds! Please accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement, and be angry with us no more!"

Allura shot a look at Lance, and he shrugged. She turned back to the King as he clapped his hands twice. A young Arusian girl scrambled forwards and raised her arms.

"Commence Dance of Apology!" the King declared.

The music began, and the little dancer began hopping and waving about in a truly strange manner. It was all Lance could do not to laugh at how fierce she looked as she danced.

"Please, there is no need for this—" Allura started, and King almost panicked.

"Moontow, halt!" he cried, and the dancer froze in place. "The Goddess has refused the apology!" he shouted. "Light the sacrificial fire!"

Another Arusian dropped a torch on a massive stack of wood, and all of them flinched back as it almost exploded, roaring dozens of feet into the sky.

"We must throw ourselves in," the King announced somberly, and Lance would have laughed at Allura's panic if he wasn't freaking out just as much.

"No!" the Princess shouted. "No sacrifices are necessary!"

"Then…" the King looked back. "We may continue with the dance?"

"Yes," Allura nodded frantically. "That's a…much better alternative."

The King clapped his hands twice, and the odd little dance continued.

Lance shook his head with a smile as the dance ended, and Allura began to introduce herself and them.

 _That was an interesting experience._

Blue was still laughing. _**I wish I could have seen the look on your face! You were absolutely panicking.**_

 _Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,_ he grumbled, but with no real ire. _They were about to hurl themselves into a raging inferno! I'm allowed to be a bit concerned, okay?_

She finally stopped laughing, but there was still a purr of amusement.

Lance spoke with a few of the Arusians, thoroughly charmed by their innocent, kind ways. He was in the middle of laughing at Keith, who had been full out tackled by one of the cuddlier villagers when Shiro's voice suddenly blazed to life in his ears.

"Come in! Team, come in! We need backup! Hello? Where is everyone?!"

"Shiro?" he straightened, catching Keith's attention. The Red Paladin immediately strode over.

"What's going on?" he asked, and Lance held up a hand.

"Shiro, what's wrong?" the Altean asked, signaling Allura with a jerk of his head.

"Lance?" The Black Paladin's relief was clear in his voice. "Oh, thank goodness. There's a pod coming in fast. It's huge, and Galra, and coming right for us."

Lance sucked in a sharp breath. "Are you—"

"I'm fine, Little Brother," Shiro calmed him instantly. "But if you guys could get out here, that would be—"

"We're on our way," Lance replied. "You just—stay out of its way, yeah?"

"You got it," Shiro answered.

Lance turned around and sprinted for Allura. "Allura!" he called. "We've got incoming! If you and Coran could guard the Village, we can go on out and meet Pidge and Shiro."

She nodded. "Go!"

Lance grabbed Keith and Hunk and explained the situation as they started running.

 _Blue, Red, Yellow! We need you, and we don't have time to go all the way back to the Castle._

 _ **We're on our way, Ayu,**_ Yellow responded.

 _ **What's my idiot Paladin done now?**_ Red groused.

Blue's calm strength swirled around him, and he took a deep breath as the three Lions came soaring over the hill, swooping low with open mouths. He leaped into Blue, followed by Keith in Red, and Yellow scooped Hunk up.

Lance dropped into his seat, pulling on his helmet and opening the channel. "We're on our way, Shiro," he said.

There was no answer.

"Shiro?"

"Our Lions just…saved us," Shiro said, his voice full of awe.

"From what?" Hunk asked, worried.

"Wow," Pidge said. Then she squawked. "Um, Shiro?! What is that?!"

"What is what?!" Keith snapped.

"Get in your Lion!" Shiro shouted. "Guys! There's a very big mechanical creature over here, and it does _not_ look friendly!"

"The day _anything_ Galra looks friendly is the day I eat my helmet," Lance grumbled.

They sped over the hill, and Lance swore in Altean at the sight that greeted them.

Black and Green were both on the ground, and the massive Galra beast was storming towards them, weapon in hand.

"Lay down some cover fire so they can get out of there!" Keith shouted.

/ _"We're trapped!" Ayu shouted into the comms, cowering behind the horribly thin table he'd upended. "And I can't get Zarkon to wake up!"_

" _Don't worry, Ayu!" Alfor's voice held none of his fear. "We're going to lay down some cover fire to attract their attention."_

" _Then me and Green are coming in to get you," Ari said confidently._

" _Green and I," Alfor corrected automatically._

" _Yeah, Green and me, that's what I just said. Keep up, Alfor."/_

Lance shook his head and unleashed a torrent of laser blasts at the creature. Hunk slammed into its back, and it fell heavily to the ground.

"Are you two okay?" Keith demanded.

"Still alive for now," Shiro groaned, and Lance's heart twisted.

"Please don't joke about that," he said, fingers tightening on his controls.

"Sorry."

Black and Green took off and joined them in the sky.

"That thing had three Lions blasting it with everything they had," Lance said. "I think we're gonna need Voltron for this one."

"Agreed," Shiro said grimly. "Alright guys, let's form Voltron."

They dropped back to the ground once Voltron had been formed, and Shiro's intentions flowed into Lance's mind easily. Blue signaled Yellow, and Lance and Hunk took off, propelling the mighty robot towards their enemy.

They dodged its weapon, and Keith let out a battle cry as he threw his Lion forward in a devastating blow—that the creature _caught._

Lance blinked. Surely not…?

Nope. There it was, holding Keith's Lion in place.

"Well, that's new," he said.

Pidge screamed in defiance, and Green rammed into the creature's head, knocking it back. They all lunged together and crashed into it, but it was holding them off somehow. Then it made a pulling motion with its weapon, and the stupid orb of energy slammed Voltron to the ground.

It came back down for another blow, and Lance and Hunk were barely able to get Voltron out of the way before the orb made another crater in the planet surface.

"I thought Voltron was supposed to be the most powerful weapon ever!" Keith shouted.

 _ **Is he questioning us?!**_ Red yowled indignantly.

"It is!" Lance yelled back. _Red, cool it._

"Watch out!" Pidge shrieked as the orb flew past. They watched it carefully, but the beast itself took advantage of the distraction and slammed into them again. They stumbled and fell over a ridge, and Shiro gasped as Voltron slowly straightened up.

"We're right next to the village!" he said.

"Hunk, we gotta go!" Lance shouted.

"I'm right with you, buddy!" Hunk answered.

Working together, they flew past the beast, drawing its attention away from the village, and the innocent Arusians.

"How do we take it down?" Pidge asked, panic beginning to work its way into her voice.

"I'm gonna power kick that orb thingy!" Hunk yelled.

"No!" Keith snapped. "The last time you did a kick, we fell!"

"It's worth a shot!"

 _ **Oh, no,**_ Yellow groaned.

Lance's eyes widened. "Wait, Hunk, don't—"

Too late.

Voltron leaped high into the air and started to descend on the beast, but the orb shot past Blue and Yellow and slammed into Voltron's head, sending the entire robot to the ground.

"Pidge!" Shiro yelled as Voltron struggled to stand. "Lasers!"

"Got it! Fire!

 _ **No, you stupid humans!**_ Green shouted. _**You need a shield! Defend, analyze the pattern, and THEN attack!**_

She summoned the shield instead.

"Oops!" Pidge yelped. "Um, um—"

"No!" Shiro groaned. "Lasers, Pidge!"

"Hunk, brace for impact!" Lance barked. "Green, keep doing what you're doing!"

 _ **I have no intention of stopping,**_ she growled. _**Now if this FOOLISH CHILD would LISTEN TO ME, we might could get something done!**_

"Lance, what are you doing?!" Keith cried.

"Shiro, that shield is powerful enough to deflect a blast from an ion canon," Lance said rapidly. "It can definitely block the orb!"

"Alright, let's try it! Brace for impact!"

Green held the shield steady, and sure enough, the orb bounced off.

"Whew," Pidge sighed, then yelped as the monster punched them, knocking Voltron into a nearby hill.

"Every time we focus on the beast, we get nailed by the orb!" Hunk complained.

"But if we focus on the orb, we get hit by the creature," Keith finished grimly. "How do we take them _both_ out?"

"Orb!" Hunk yelled, but the warning came a little too late, and Voltron hit the ground again.

Keith groaned. "Shiro, we gotta move. Shiro? You there?"

Lance stiffened, reaching out through the bond. Shiro's mind was distant, like he wasn't really there.

 _Shiro?_ He called hesitantly, and almost screamed as he was pulled abruptly into one of Shiro's memories.

/ _He threw himself behind the pillar, and Myzax's weapon slammed into the front of it, gouging the material. It snapped back into the base of the weapon with a harsh sound—an easily recognizable sound./_

Lance gasped as the memory faded, and he was himself again.

"I know this thing!" Shiro said urgently. "I fought it in Zarkon's arena! I know how to beat him!"

"That's great!" Keith grunted as Voltron flew out of the way of another devastating attack. "Care to share with the rest of us?!"

"There's a loud sound when the orb returns to the base of the weapon," Shiro explained. "Every third time it connects, it has to recharge. That's his weak spot."

"But what do we do until then?!" Hunk asked.

"Defense!" Shiro answered grimly. "Pidge! Shield!"

"On it!"

The orb bounced off the shield again, but it forced them back a step. The orb whipped around and crashed into the shield again. They almost fell, but Lance and Blue planted themselves and shoved back.

"Shiro, we can't take much more!" he warned, breathless.

"I know! Just one more! Everyone brace for impact!"

This time, it struck with much more power. Pidge and Green weren't ready for that, and the shield went flying in two opposite directions.

But the orb returned to the weapon and stayed there.

"Now!" Shiro shouted, and Keith and Red sent a lethal blast at the creature. There was a massive explosion as the laser hit, and the thing collapsed.

"Ugh, finally," Hunk groaned.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Keith shouted as the creature rose to its feet yet again.

"Now what, Shiro?" Lance demanded.

"Last time I fought him, I had a sword!" Shiro answered, and Lance gasped.

 _Red! Keith's bayard is a sword!_

 _ **Way ahead of you, Ayu.**_

"Keith!" the Blue Paladin shouted. "Is your Lion showing you something—"

"Orb! Orb!" Hunk yelled, and they all shouted in pain as the wretched thing hit them again, smashing them harder against the ground.

"Is your Lion telling you something?!" Lance yelled.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if—" Keith started.

"Do it!" Lance shouted. "Do it _now_! He's about to fire his third shot!"

"Here goes nothing," Keith muttered, and a heartbeat later, Voltron's sword blazed into existence. It sliced through the creature from top to bottom, and it crashed to the ground with a massive explosion.

"How did you do that?!"

"Way to go!"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Nice work, Keith!"

"Whoa," Keith said, deactivating it. He laughed. "Thanks, Red."

 _ **You are welcome, you foolish little Earthling,**_ Red grumbled, but he was pleased, and there was genuine affection beneath the complaining.

Lance laughed in relief. _Look at that, Red. Somebody finally appreciates you._

Red growled at him, and he shook his head with a grin.

"Good job, guys," Shiro said. "Let's get back to the village and check on the Arusians."

* * *

The rescued prisoners had been given a pod and enough supplies to last for nearly three movements—more than enough time for them to return to their homes.

"We truly cannot thank you enough," their leader told the Paladins.

"There's no need for that," Lance told him with a smile. "It's enough for us to know that you're going to make it home."

The being teared up. "Home at last," he said. "I never dared to believe I'd see my family again, but you have given me this irreplaceable gift. And more than that—you have given me hope. You have given the universe hope."

As the other Paladins said their good-byes and waved as the pod took off, the Blue Paladin felt tears sting his eyes.

After so many years of pain and fear and despair, hope and light had once more come to this war-torn universe.

/ _"We are more than the Universe's Defender," Zarkon said firmly, standing tall above them. "We symbolize far more than war and fighting. We stand for peace, and hope, and all that is good in this universe. Never forget that." /_

Peace, hope, and all that is good in this universe.

 _ **Hope has returned to the stars,**_ Blue whispered, fierce joy in her voice. _**And soon, every constellation will be shouting the news from the heavens: Hope flies once more across the galaxies. We shall be free again.**_

Atreyu Talyn smiled up at those stars, the stars that still held the love of his sister, and he blew her memory a kiss.

 _For the good of this universe, I will fight until the sun goes out,_ he said softly, the ancient words singing in his heart. _Then I shall turn to the stars, and they shall guide me home. Blue, I think…I think I found my home again._

She didn't say anything, but love and joy flooded their bond.

"Ayu!" Allura called. She bounded up and slung an arm over his shoulders. "Come on. It's time for dinner, and then I was thinking about implementing a training regimen tomorrow, but I still don't fully understand the capacities of the human body. I don't want to overwhelm them, but they need some structured training, and—"

"And we have to fix that blasted stabilizer before the Castle can take off," Coran added from his other side. "Oh! And I made a traditional Ghriskalen dish for supper! It's a real treat!"

Allura's eyes widened in dismay, and Atreyu smiled.

 _Yeah._

 _I'm home._

* * *

 **So this one was kind of just a filler chapter...sorry about that. But the next one will be a lot more angsty, long, and heart-shattering. *evil laughter***

 **I can't wait!**

 **Till next time!**


	8. But Still So Far Away

**Hello, my beautiful, wonderful, incredibly patient and forgiving readers!**

 **I AM SO SORRY!**

 **I know this is so very extremely late, and aaaahhhhhh! It has been pretty insane over here for the last little bit. But you guys have been so supportive and encouraging the whole time, and I just…I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. It warms my heart.**

 **So! I noticed that I had a few discrepancies in the first few chapters. I said that Red was a she in the first two and a half chapters, then switched him to a guy, and I said that Arianwen's facial markings were viridian at first, and then changed it to blue later. I went back and updated the first three chapters, so theoretically, I fixed all of that. But it's also really super late/early right now, so there's actually a high probability that I just published chapter two three times in a row. If I did that, or if you catch any other little inconsistencies, please let me know so I can fix it!**

 **One thing that I have been known to do is write a scene using somebody's request and then totally forget to actually put it in the finished project. If I've done that to anybody, let me know and I'll take the chapter down, write it in, and re-publish it. It's really not a lot of trouble at all, so please, please, PLEASE let me know if I do this.**

 **Also SEASON SIX WHAT THE HECK**

 **I cried.**

 **I cried a lot.**

 **IT'S REALLY GOOD!**

 **So, all that aside…**

 **Enjoy!**

 **SPOILERS: Season 1 Episode Four: Fall of the Castle of Lions**

 **WARNINGS: Serious character death, lots of flashbacks, some happy, some not-so-much. SOME VERY STRONG NIGHTMARE/FLASHBACK THINGS. I'll mark those with a set of ** at both ends, so you can skip them if you would like to. The bad parts are after Ayu has been badly injured, and his mind is really just going all out to torture him.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Voltron or Junili. Juni is the creation of the fantastic Bubblekins1010, who has been an incredible support and encourager to me this whole time. Thank you so much, my friend!**

 **And behold!**

 **Chapter Eight!**

 **UPDATE: 4/16/19: I didn't have Allura's mother's name right when I first wrote this chapter. I'm not sure if they just hadn't given her one yet, or if that was just me not bothering to go find it. So that's fixed now. And I actually started working on chapter nine again! That should...hypothetically... be out in the next few days. I think.**

* * *

 _But Still So Far Away…_

* * *

… _And Atreyu smiled._

 _ **Yeah.**_

 _ **I'm home…**_

* * *

The celebration lasted long into the night, and Lance leaned against the wall, smiling as he watched the Arusians dancing all over the Castle. He was briefly concerned about the state the Castle would be in once all was said and done, but dismissed the thought with a grin.

The King had ordered a play written to laud Voltron's victory over the horrible creature they had faced and defeated that afternoon, and Lance quickly moved over to stand near Keith, at the foot of the stairs. If this was anything like the Dance of Apology, it was going to be hilarious.

It was.

"But Voltron was victorious!" the King declared, and Lance almost snorted his Nunvill out his nose as the little actors got totally confused, and "Voltron" crashed to the ground in defeat. Keith dropped his head into his hand, shaking with silent laughter.

"No!" the King glared at the actors. "I said, _Voltron was victorious!"_

Lance shook his head with a wide smile as they quickly leaped back up, and the "Monster" collapsed instead.

All of the Arusians exploded into cheers, and Allura stepped forward.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for that… _wonderful_ …production," Allura said, with that face that was somewhere between bemused and delighted. She turned to address the crowd. "It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow! But we must continue our quest to spread peace across the Universe, and bring down Zarkon's dark throne. Your Highness, please accept this gift." She placed a blue and white Altean communicator in the King's hands. "This will allow you to contact us whenever you need help. Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance!"

The King held it up high. "Hoo-rah!" he bellowed, and all his people answered him with gusto.

"Hey, we oughta get something like that…" Hunk said, walking up to where Keith and Lance stood.

"Something like what?" Lance stretched languidly, feeling his back pop.

"Like, our own cheer or something," Hunk said. "A Voltron cheer."

Lance grinned. "We could do that."

"Did your team ever have anything like that?" Keith asked.

Lance's smile faltered for a moment before he forced it back up. "Ha! Nah. Ari and me got into enough trouble as it was without running around screaming some sort of cheer. Alfor might have actually thrown us off the tallest spire in the Castle."

Keith snorted at the idea while Hunk looked concerned. The big guy quickly shook it off.

"Hey, I've got it!" he exclaimed. "I say Vol, you say Tron!" He pointed at Lance. "Vol!"

"Tron!" Lance crowed. He and Hunk high-fived, and then turned to Keith.

"I say Vol, you say Tron!" Hunk said again. "Vol!"

He pointed at Keith, and the Red Paladin shot a baffled look at Lance before replying hesitantly with, "Vol…tron?"

Lance lost it and started cackling as Hunk tried—and failed—to teach Keith the correct way to do the cheer.

"We'll work on it," the Yellow Paladin finally sighed, taking a deep drink from the cup in his hand. His eyes blew wide, and he spewed it out all over the floor, almost soaking Lance in the process.

"Dude!" he yelled, diving out of the way.

"What _is_ this stuff?!" Hunk gagged, holding the cup as far away from himself as he could.

"That's Nunvill, the nectar of the gods!" Coran piped cheerfully from behind Lance.

Lance stared at him. "You gave them Nunvill? You gave them plain, straight out of the bottle _Nunvill?!_ "

"I did!" Coran beamed at him.

"Ugh!" Hunk shuddered. "It tastes like hot dog water and feet."

Keith looked mildly nauseous. "That was oddly specific."

Coran laughed. "I know! It's also a spectacular hair tonic."

Lance just shook his head as the eccentric advisor sprinkled some on his mustache, and all three Paladins gaped in unison as it _actually grew at least an inch instantaneously._

"That…That's not right," Keith muttered, eyes wide.

Hunk was still trying valiantly not to lose his dinner, and Lance was looking at his own cup with doubt. He'd added juniberry juice to his own, unable to stand the taste of plain Nunvill, but even though Nunvill supposedly improved with age, he was starting to wonder if ten thousand years was just a little _too_ aged.

/ _"Put some juniberries in it," said a shy, melodic voice from his right, quietly laughing at his watering eyes and burning throat. "I've found that makes it much,_ _ **much**_ _more bearable."_

 _Dark eyes, a thousand shifting shades of brown dancing in their depths with a flash of purple, glitter with amusement._

" _Thank you," he choked out, still coughing, and she laughed again, a light blush spreading over her cheekbones._

" _No problem."/_

Lance shook himself forcefully back to the present.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Hunk said, and Keith grabbed his arm.

"Come on, big guy," he said. "Let's go sit down and find some water."

Lance smiled fondly at the two as Keith led Hunk off. For all his awkwardness and serious temper, Keith was a really good person, and he cared about his team.

He made his way over towards Shiro, arriving in time to hear the tail end of his conversation with Coran.

"Oh, these Arusians won't hurt anything!" Coran exclaimed right as Lance literally had to hit the deck as a couple of younger Arusians careened by on a hovering serving platter.

Coran winced at the sound of shattering dishware. "Much," he amended.

Lance cautiously rose to his feet again, looking around for anymore UFAs—Unidentified Flying Arusians.

"Besides, the Castle of Lions has been on this planet for over ten thousand years," Lance pointed out, leaning against the wall next to his leader. "It only seems right that the Arusians get to actually see inside it. You know?"

"Yeah," Shiro said. His brows furrowed. "But who knows when Zarkon will send another creature, or another commander like Sendak?"

Lance's jaw set.

"I'm gonna do a perimeter check," the Black Paladin said, striding down the entry hall. "Just in case."

Coran looked after him with a sorrowful expression, and Lance sighed. He jogged down the hall, easily catching up.

"Shiro," he said quietly, and the man turned. The Blue Paladin rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't stay wary if you feel that it's important, but don't forget that you need some downtime as well, alright? We won a victory today. We saved a planet." His eyes grew a little sharper. "And we are more than warriors. Remember that, Shiro. We are more than soldiers. It's alright to take a little time for yourself. Okay?" he offered a sad smile, and Shiro returned it.

"When you stop sleeping with your bayard under your pillow, let me know, and we can try this discussion again," Shiro joked gently, and Lance laughed, holding up both hands.

"Okay, that's fair enough," he admitted. "Just…try to take it a little easy, alright? We are safe here, Shiro. All of us."

The Black Paladin sucked in a deep breath and let it out. "I know that, I do, it's just…"

Lance smiled at him again, but a little sadder, and a lot older. "I get it." He squeezed Shiro's shoulder before letting go and stepping away, saying, "Just make sure to keep your comms open and on your person, okay?"

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "'We're safe here'," he mocked, and Lance smacked his shoulder.

"Oh, get out of here already," he grumbled.

Shiro laughed and did so, but he was noticeably more relaxed, and Lance nodded with satisfaction before turning and heading back to the party.

Hunk waved him down. "Dude, this space juice is something else," he said, gulping down another mouthful of Nunvill and cringing with a full-body shudder.

Lance bit his lip and tried not to smile. He failed. "Don't you worry, Hunk," he said with a grin. "You'll be home before you know it, and you'll never have to drink it again."

"Oh, yeah," Hunk grinned and swiped a bowl of asidage sticks that were whizzing by on a moving platter. "Hey, do you think we'll get to land on a nacho planet? Or a potato planet? Oh! What about a meat planet?! Like, a planet that's just totally made out of meat! That would be amazing!"

Lance threw his head back and laughed. "I don't know, buddy," he said. "But there's only one planet that has Dialri Bay, and fresh-baked sleitel bread, and…" his smile faded. "And Ari's garden, and Juni's hugs…"

 _/ "Ayu! Look! I got the juniberries to bloom_ _ **blue**_ _! Isn't this amazing?!" Ari's green eyes were practically glowing with excitement. She was covered in dirt, head to toe, but her smile could have outshone the stars themselves._

 _And sure enough, the blooms in her hands were as deep and rich as the markings on her face._

" _Ari, that's incredible!" he whooped._

 _She laughed as he grabbed her up and spun her around in victory…./_

Lance sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden rush of memories.

 _/This treaty was driving him mad. If he couldn't get it signed by tomorrow, there would likely be a war. But neither faction could come to an agreement. He dropped his head on the table and groaned. Warm arms wrapped around him, dark curly hair tickling his neck as she propped her chin on his shoulder._

 _He leaned back against her, and she held him closer for a long moment._

" _Better?"_

 _He gave her a grateful smile, and she kissed his forehead._

" _Better," he said.../_

His heart wrenched in his chest, and he could feel tears threatening as those brilliant green eyes flashed in his mind, accompanied by a dark, shy pair, both shining with love and life and now gone dark forever.

His hand tightened on his cup, putting dents in the metal.

"Sorry," he managed. "I think I've had too much Nunvill. I'm gonna go get some air."

"Yeah," Hunk's brow was furrowed as he stared down at his asidage. "Um, this isn't gonna taste like Nunvill, is it?"

Lance forced a weak smile. "No. You'll love it, promise."

He made his escape as fast as he could.

* * *

He found himself in the control room eventually, and activated the star map, tracing out the constellations.

 _At least there's one thing that hasn't changed,_ he thought morosely.

 _ **Only one?**_ Blue asked indignantly, but he could feel her care and concern.

He managed a smile for her. _I don't know what I would have done without you, beautiful._

 _ **Gone mad, probably,**_ she suggested, and he gave an unamused snort of laughter.

 _Probably,_ he agreed darkly.

The doors swished open, and a moment later, Coran's hand came down on his shoulder.

"Whatever it is you're looking for, Ayu," he said quietly, "you're not going to find it on an old starmap."

Ayu tried to laugh, but tears burned his eyes again, and he couldn't. "I don't think there's anywhere I can go to find what I'm really looking for," he whispered, voice shaking. "She's rather well and truly gone."

"Oh, Ayu," Coran said, and his voice broke. He reached out and pulled the smaller Altean into his arms, and Ayu buried his face in his shoulder and cried.

" _I want them back_ ," he sobbed, brown eyes flashing in his mind. " _I want her back, Coran."_

" _Hush, my boy,"_ Coran murmured, running a hand through his hair _. "I've got you, lad. I understand. Shh, shh, shh…."_

Ayu couldn't have said how long they stood there in the light of the crystal, with Coran's gentle voice and his hitching cries the only sounds echoing in the cold room.

Finally, his sobs died down to the occasional sniffle. Coran still didn't let go.

" _We'll see them again someday, lad,"_ he whispered. _"They're not gone forever, no matter how long it feels like. We'll see them again."_ He let go and held Ayu at arm's length, firmly meeting his eyes and not letting him look away. _"Remember that, my boy. They_ _ **are not**_ _gone forever."_

Ayu gave him a tearful smile and nodded, wiping the last of his tears away. "Thank you, Coran," he said, voice thick.

"Anytime, my boy," the advisor said, giving a tearful smile of his own. He clapped Ayu on the shoulder and then turned. "We'd best be getting back to the celebration. They'll be missing us."

"Right behind y—oh, hey, Rover," Ayu—Lance now—grinned up at the little drone as it buzzed by overhead. He took two steps after Coran before freezing. "Wait…where's Pidge?"

The drone attached itself to the crystal, and Lance's eyes widened in horror as a very familiar beeping sounded through the room.

" _CORAN, GET DOWN!"_ he bellowed, slinging himself forward as fast as he could.

"Wha—" the older Altean went down under his weight, and then everything went white, and there was fire and pain and…

And then there was only darkness.

* * *

 _She snorted, bright brown eyes alight with mirth._

" _That was terrible, Ayu, and you know it," she shoved at his shoulder, and he rolled over with a laugh, throwing another handful of grass at her._

" _But it was true," he said with a shameless grin. "You_ are _out of this galaxy. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in all my years. I swear it."_

 _Her eyes widened, and she was blushing so brightly her purple facial markings almost seemed to glow. "Stop it!"_

 _His grin widened. "I can't! You're the light of my life! The sun of my solar system! The stars of my galaxy!"_

 _She squeaked, hands flying to cover her face. "Seriously?!"_

 _He kissed the top of her head. "Absolutely!"_

 _ ****** She looked up at him then, smile gone and warm brown skin pale. "Then why did you let me die?"_

 _His smile vanished, and he stumbled back as her skin suddenly turned to ice. The golden sunlight turned cold and thin and grey around them._

" _Wh-what? Juni, I didn't—what?"_

 _Her brown eyes were cold, the purple iris dull and dead. "Why did you let me die, Ayu? I burned."_

 _Fires raged up all around them. The meadow was burning._

 _Fire._

 _Fire all around._

 _No way out._

" _No!" he cried out. "This didn't—this didn't happen!"_

" _Yes, it did," she said. She didn't move from her place as he staggered away. She just stood there. "You didn't see it because you were safely escaping. Running away."_

" _No!"_

" _Yes," she said, no emotion on her face or in her eyes. "You ran away, Ayu. You left me. You left me to die. You let me burn."_

" _No, no, no!" he screamed, slapping his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut._

 _She was suddenly right in front of him, ripping his hands off his eyes with a cruelty that she had never had in life. "You left me to burn. You killed me."_

 _He watched in horror as fire caught her skirt and began to creep up her body._

" _No!" he howled, trying to put it out. It just kept climbing, and she didn't seem to care._

" _You left me to die," she said again, and suddenly, Ari was beside her, bloodied and mangled, but glaring at him with dead green eyes so full of hatred and rage that he felt sick._

" _Why didn't you save me, Brother?" she asked, her voice sounding horribly choked. She took a lurching step forward._

" _Ari," he whimpered, reaching out to her._

" _You should have saved me," she spat. "Why weren't you faster?!"_

" _Atreyu," his father was there, fire eating away at his body. His mother was on her knees behind him, cradling the tiny body of Lyren, wailing in grief as the flames swallowed her alive. "You failed us, Atreyu." His father's face was steely. "You failed us all."_

" _You let us die," Javen said harshly, fire wreathing his face. "We died because of you."_

" _No," Ayu stumbled, heart thundering as he spun in place._

 _But everywhere he turned, he saw nothing but fire and death and hate._

 _It was all his fault._

 _He spun back and then reeled away from Ari's mutilated body. She stared at him with her raging, hateful, sickly green eyes as she raised her blade and plunged it through his body._

 _He gasped in agony as he crashed to his knees._

 _Warm arms wrapped around him, dark curly hair tickling his neck as she propped her chin on her shoulder._

" _Oh, Ayu," she crooned, and kissed his forehead. "It's only what you deserve. After all,_ _ **THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT."****_

* * *

 _"No, Junili!"_ he half-wailed, writhing on the cold metal floor as agony ripped through every nerve. _"Ari! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._ "

"Ah, he's still alive," said a dark voice above him.

One of his eyes was pried open, and he could see—there was something wrong with his vision. Everything was colored wrong, and everything was blurry. He could barely see the massive Galra looming above him with a savage grin.

"Lord Zarkon will be happy to get his hands on you," the Galra said.

There was a niggling feeling in the back of his head that said he should be concerned about that.

All he could feel was fire, raging up and down his body and so much pain, physical but mostly in his heart and soul.

He moaned, and the Galra laughed before dropping him back down to the ground and his boot was moving towards Ayu's head and—

* * *

 _There was a ring on her hand, and she was smiling, and Ari was screaming in excitement. Mother and Father looked so pleased, and Alfor's smile looked like it was about to split his face._

" _Well done, Ayu!" he declared. "I'm actually rather amazed at the sheer amount of death and destruction that you managed to bring down on us."_

 _ ****** Blood abruptly began pouring from his mouth, and Ayu felt his heart freeze in horror as Melenor's face and dress suddenly became a twisted mass of burns and blood._

" _Your Majesties_ _!" he gasped, but the king carried on as though he hadn't heard him._

" _An entire planet of innocent beings, and he didn't even manage to save a single one!" he said, and the crowd around them burst into laughter as though it was the funniest joke they'd ever heard._

" _Alfor, you're bleeding!" Ayu cried, as blood began staining Alfor's pristine uniform in a devastating line of scarlet running from his right hip to his left shoulder._

 _Alfor laughed, and more blood ran down his chin._

" _Ayu, what's wrong?" Juni asked him, concerned._

 _He turned to her, only to stumble backwards with a cry of horror._

 _She was horrendously burned, and her beautiful dress was in tatters. Her eyes were grey and unseeing, and her smile was a skeleton's grin._

" _Ayu? Are you alright?" Ari pressed close and he cried out again. She was covered in fatal wounds, missing one green eye and bleeding from literally everywhere on her body._

" _Small One, your heart is troubled," Yseult rumbled, and Ayu's stomach violently rebelled against the great, bloody hole in the Balmeran's chest, showing clearly that his heart was no longer there._

" _Whatever is the matter, Atreyu?" Zarkon asked, his eyes glowing with an unholy purple light as his claws lengthened and the gash down his face dripped blood onto his armor, now black and damaged._

 _Ayu screamed. ******_

* * *

He jerked back to consciousness still screaming out the names that belonged only to the dead.

The Galra was glaring at someone over his head, and Ayu choked out another moan of agony as he was dragged further off the ground by his bloodstained white hair.

"Cooperate, or he will pay for your mistakes," the Galra growled.

"NO!" cried out a strong, steady voice that sounded familiar. "Don't hurt him!"

He moaned again.

"Hang on, Lance," that voice said, urgent and afraid.

 _Lance? Who the quiznak was Lance?_

He pried one eye open, managing to get a glimpse of white and black.

 _Black._

 _Kon._

"' _m alright, Kon,_ " he slurred. _"'m okay."_

His mind drifted again.

 _ **NO!**_ Roared someone in his mind. _**Little One, don't go to sleep!**_

 _Just a few more moments…_

* * *

 _There was darkness all around._

 _Blue was screaming in his mind, but he couldn't hear her._

 _Ari was a limp weight in his arms, but she wasn't moving._

' _Because she's dead,' a little voice reminded him._

 _ **Brace yourself, Little One!**_ _Blue screamed, and then there was a massive impact._

 _He might have been screaming._

 _He wasn't sure._

 _But the dark was coming back, and he remembered that it didn't hurt there, so he welcomed it with open arms._

* * *

His eyes opened again, and he groaned through his teeth at the agony ripping through his body.

Sounds of battle raged all around him, and through his dim vision, he could see a massive Galra with a prosthetic arm and eye— _why does he look so familiar? Do I know him?—_ holding a small figure in green armor well off the ground and squeezing. Red, black, and pink blurs were trying to attack him, but it didn't seem to be working.

 _Ari is in danger._

The thought was crystal clear and he felt his bayard come to life in his hand. He forced himself into a sitting position, not feeling the pain as he straightened and raised his bow, pulling it to full draw.

He had to be careful. If he missed his target, he could hit Ari.

The Blue Paladin never missed.

His arrow flew true, slamming into the Galra's back and forcing it to drop Ari. She hit the ground and rolled away, and Ayu choked on a scream as he suddenly became aware of how much pain he was in.

* * *

" _So long, my friend!" Alfor whooped, shoving him down the banister with great relish, and laughing his tail off when Ayu went flying, landing on the hard floor with a shriek and a crash._

* * *

The Galra gave a deafening roar, and there was an answering battle cry from Alfor.

* * *

" _Stay with us, Ayu!"_

 _Wide blue eyes looked down at him, his King's face a study in terror as he pressed his hands against eh gaping hole in Ayu's armor._

* * *

Melenor— _when did she get here?—_ let out a furious bellow of her own as the Galra knocked Alfor aside, and dealt the creature a heavy blow, forcing it backwards.

* * *

 _Zarkon laughed softly as Ari simply curled into him when he lifted her down from the tree she'd fallen asleep in, never so much as opening her eyes._

 _Ayu found himself yawning where he stood, and the next thing he knew, he was being laid down in his bed, with Kon's gentle, "Goodnight, little brother," still ringing in his ears._

* * *

Zarkon let out a hoarse shout as he caught the Galra's prosthetic, bracing his legs on the ground and heaving up, giving Alfor the opening he needed to slice the wretched thing apart.

* * *

" _Goodbye,_ _ **Brother,**_ **"** _Zarkon snarled, ripping his bayard free from Ayu's chest and watching him fall to the ground far below._

* * *

The Galra screamed, but he was pretty clearly defeated now.

They were almost safe, but not quite.

* * *

 _Yseult knocked on the door of the medical wing with a wide grin. "You are awake, Small One!" he said happily. "I prepared you some fresh siehl, just as you like it."_

 _Ayu grinned at him, carefully sitting up so as not to tear his stitches._

 _Fallwren was an excellent healer, but the girl was a bloody nightmare about her precious_ _ **stitches**_ **.**

 _Ugh._

" _Thank you, Yseult!" he chirped._

" _It was no trouble at all, Small One."_

* * *

Alfor laced his fingers together and boosted Melenor into the air, where she spun and lashed out with one leg in a devastating blow that knocked the Galra back several steps.

"Pidge, now!" she shouted.

 _Who the quiznak is Pidge?_

* * *

 _Yseult gave a strangled scream of agony as Zarkon's clawed hand plunged_ _ **into his chest,**_ _and Ayu echoed it, wrenching harder at his trapped leg, desperate to reach the Balmeran in time._

" _Oh, poor Yseult," Zarkon purred, eyes glowing in sick delight. "So trusting, so forgiving. That heart of your is a little too big, I think. Why don't I save you some future trouble and just take care of that for you?"_

 _He ripped his arm back, and Yseult's eyes went dull._

 _His heart was in Zarkon's bloody claws._

 _As the Yellow Paladin's empty body collapsed onto the cold metal of Zarkon's ship, Ayu's screams of rage and grief and horror echoed over the bloodstained battlefield below._

* * *

As the Galra staggered back, a miniaturized version of the particle barrier snapped up around him, and he froze in place.

Alfor came running over and dropped to one knee beside Ayu, reaching out and gently helping him upright.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and wow, the Galra must have gotten a good hit in to his throat, Ayu thought.

Alfor's voice was way too raspy and high.

He nodded with a tiny smile.

Then his eyes rolled up and everything went dark again.

* * *

 **...I'm sorry?**

 **There was just so much possibility for angst, and I just kinda...**

 **Ahem.**

 **Chapter Eight, everyone!**

 **In case it wasn't clear, Melenor is Allura's mother, Alfor's wife and queen. She's awesome.**

 **Also, Junili. She's going to be a wonderful source of pain and angst for everybody's favorite Altean. I'm not telling you who she is just yet, but I promise, you're all going to love her.**

 **She belongs, as aforementioned, to the fantastic Bubblikins1010, who created her for this story and asked me to put her in. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER, GUYS. YOU GET SPECIAL PRIVILEGES.**

 **NOW BE GOOD MINIONS AND REVIEW, SO I'LL WRITE MORE AND TAKE CARE OF THAT CLIFFHANGER.**

 **Till next time!**


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